With Jackass: Best and Last currently making audiences laugh and gag in cinemas for the last time, it only seemed fair to take a trip down memory lane and look back at the legacy of stupidity Johnny Knoxville and co. have left behind for the past 25 years, with a list of the best stunts they’ve ever put to screen.
For context, this list only accounts for stunts from the five theatrically released films, which means anything from the original TV show or the .5 films, despite how funny they may be, won’t be included here.
20. Bungee Wedgie (Jackass: The Movie)
We start the list with an incredibly basic yet memorable one…the Bungee Wedgie. Raab Himself jumps from a tree, suspended by his underwear from a bungee cord. That’s literally all there is to it, and the image of Raab dangling upside down from the tree by his pants is still funny to this day.
19. Robot Prostate Exam (Jackass: Best and Last)
The final film in the series offers a lot of gross-out moments, more so than the previous instalments, and this is the first one we are treated to…ok maybe treated isn’t the best word to use. Simply put, Steve-O has a robot shove its finger into his bum, and yes, it looks as painful as it sounds, both with and without crunchy peanut butter for extra lubrication. Don’t look at me, that last part was Knoxville’s idea.
18. Musical Chair Bags (Jackass Forever)
Jackass Forever had many standout pranks, stunts and jokes, and this sadistically dumb take on musical chairs is one of those highlights. Half of the humour comes from the anticipation of it all, you know exactly what’s going to happen, but it keeps getting dragged out more and more and more. The other half comes from the sudden air bag deployment, which sees Wee Man flying into the air like a rag doll.
17. Port-a-Loo “Paint” Bomb (Jackass 3)
Sometimes, the smaller pranks in Jackass films get the biggest laughs, and the constant Port-a-Loo-related bits they do in between the bigger stunts are a key example of that. The best ones are found in the third film, where multiple unknowing participants who want to use the toilet are instead blasted in the face with what looks like paint but is in fact a blue odour-cleansing biocide. The funniest one is easily Ryan, who gets completely covered after spending an hour getting ready for filming, but the bomb Dave experiences is also noteworthy.
16. Electric Balance Beam (Jackass: Best and Last)
Despite being one of the tamer stunts from the new film (especially compared to a certain, vomit-inducing game of Twister with laxatives), the Electric Balance Beam still ends up being one of the clear standouts due to its simplicity. The idea is as straightforward as they come. Poopies attempts to balance on a steel beam whilst Knoxville randomly triggers a shock collar on Poopies’ penis. It’s dumb, simple and absolutely hilarious once the inevitable actually happens.
15. Firehose Rodeo (Jackass Number Two)
Dave England is known for his poo-related antics, but one of his best bits to date has nothing to do with turds at all. This is an incredibly stupid stunt that involves Dave hanging onto a firehose for dear life as it sprays out of control, and a lot of the comedy here comes from seeing him flail around uncontrollably. It’s moments like this that cement Jackass’ transition from TV to film.
14. The Magic Trick (Jackass Forever)
Johnny Knoxville’s last ever run-in with a bull is arguably his most iconic…and life-threatening. The gang have done many stunts involving animals such as bulls, buffalo and rams, but this one hits hard, mainly for how brutal the impact is on Knoxville. This stunt, compared to other bull-related ones they’ve done previously, put him in the hospital with a serious concussion and meant he could no longer do any more bits with bulls due to the risk of death, essentially marking the end of an era for a recurring feat that arguably made this franchise as renowned as it is.
13. The Toro Totter (Jackass Number Two)
This is another bull-themed stunt that constantly ranks high on Jackass lists and for good reason. What starts as a game of ‘dodge the bull’ quickly turns violent as Chris, Ryan and Bam run for their lives, and Knoxville gets continually pummeled in the teeter totter. It’s a rather uncomfortable stunt that many remember fondly despite how gnarly it may be.
12. Super Mighty Glue (Jackass 3)
Some Jackass stunts are hard to imitate at home due to their elaborate size and setup, not this one. Just find some strong enough glue from around the house, squirt a large amount onto your hand, slap it onto someone’s hairy patch, and hope for the best. Aside from the furry-handed aftermath, much of the hilarity comes from the group trying to find new ways to stick their hands and body parts to each other.
11. The Cup Tests (Jackass Forever)
Danger Ehren was, without a doubt, the MVP of Jackass Forever, considering how much he was put through. However, his crowning achievement from this film (which some could debate is the Lie Detector Bear Prank) for me is a montage of cup tests he had to endure, all increasing in severity. From being punched in the nether regions by MMA fighter Francis Ngannou to having Dave England pin his ball to the ground with a pogo stick, this montage just gets more and more cringe-inducing the longer it goes on.
10. The Bungee Jump (Jackass Number Two)
Bam’s presence in the latter films was sorely missed as a lot of the pranks and stunts he came up with were the definition of “fuck around and find out”. The magnum opus of Bam’s experimentation comes in the form of this bridge bungee jump that sees Preston and Wee Man tied together. Very little thought went into this one, as it was crudely drawn on a piece of paper beforehand, but the final product speaks for itself, as it is just as idiotic in execution as it is concept.
9. Golf Course Airhorn (Jackass: The Movie)
As previously stated, sometimes the simplest pranks are the best when it comes to Jackass, and Golf Course Airhorn is the perfect and most juvenile instance of that. Blowing air horns right when golfers are about to take a swing at the ball is so straightforward and effective that it never fails to get a chuckle, no matter how childish it may seem.
8. Jet Engine (Jackass 3)
There isn’t much to say about this one other than the fact that the sight of people being blown back with intense force due to a jet engine is, simply put, very funny. That’s literally all it is, and its cartoonish nature only adds to the hilarity of it.
7. Electric Tap Dance (Jackass Forever)
Jokes mostly work when they’re quick and to the point, but the Electric Tap Dance is one of those instances where the more it goes on, the funnier it gets. Whether it’s the barefoot dancers struggling to keep to the beat or Tyler, the Creator flying off his piano stool, this bit honestly never gets old and is rounded off beautifully with director Jeff Tremaine trying the stool out for himself and living to regret it.
6. Riot Control Test (Jackass Number Two)
Not all Jackass stunts are funny from the word go. The more life-threatening ones can genuinely bring tension and fear to both audiences and cast members alike, and this is one of those nail-biters. This bit harkens back to Jackass’ origins in “testing” self-defence equipment as it sees Bam, Ryan and Knoxville come face to face with a mine used to deter protesters outside of embassies. Though the eventual “test” looks and sounds excruciatingly painful, the funniest part is the build-up where Knoxville tries to coerce the others into doing it by reassuring them that it’s “just loud”.
5. Terror Taxi (Jackass Number Two)
The Jackass crew have gotten away with many sickening and controversial hijinks over the years, and the one that most fans view as the pinnacle of what this series stands for is the final stunt of Jackass Number Two. This entire prank is a glorious, multi-layered concoction of ill-advised accents, questionable morals and, for some reason, pubic facial hair. That last part really didn’t need to be added, but the fact that it is just makes the whole thing so much funnier.
4. Poo Cocktail Supreme (Jackass 3)
The ideas the Jackass team come up with constantly make you wonder what goes on in their brains. Sometimes they come up with unique ways to hurt themselves, and other times they just look at older bits they’ve done and go, “Let’s do that again, but bigger.” The original Poo Cocktail skit, which saw Johnny Knoxville jump into a Port-a-Loo as it’s flipped upside down into a garbage truck, was first conceived all the way back in the show’s first season, only for it to be resurrected almost a decade later with Steve-O, a giant slingshot and a lot more free-falling poo.
3. Silence of the Lambs (Jackass Forever)
I think most will agree that one of the best moments from Jackass Forever is the elaborate ruse of Silence of the Lambs. What seems to be a nice and easy stunt on the surface quickly spirals into darkness and chaos as different cast members are left to fend for themselves, leading to some fantastic reactions and a last-ditch attempt from Zach, who collapses headfirst onto a table covered in tacs and mousetraps.
2. The High Five (Jackass 3)
For many, myself included, Jackass is at its best when it takes slapstick violence and pushes it to the extreme. The High Five is a prime example of this, as it sounds like something you’d expect to see in a classic Looney Tunes sketch. Every hit with the giant, spring-loaded hand gets better and better, especially when Ehren is asked to bring in a whole tray full of soup only for it to come crashing into his face.
1. Butt X-Ray (Jackass: The Movie)
The late Ryan Dunn gave us many memorable moments throughout the history of Jackass, but the one stunt he will always be remembered for, and rightfully so, is the Butt X-Ray, which closes out the first movie. The initial action of shoving the toy car up his butt is funny on its own, but the comedy gold comes entirely from Ryan playing it completely straight-faced and the reaction of the doctors as they inspect the X-Ray. There’s no better way to end your first film than on a literal bum note.
Jackass: Best and Last is now playing in UK cinemas.
