Jackass (DVD Boxset) (2005)
Very few people who have watched the show Jackass feel indifferent about it either you think a bunch of dudes sitting around pulling pranks and hurting each other is a funny concept, or you dont. Love it or hate it, Jackass launched a thousand copycats and changed the landscape of television forever. Whether or not you think thats a good thing is a different story.
Jackass: The Boxset includes four DVDs: Volumes One, Two and Three, as well as a fourth bonus disc. While Volumes Two and Three have been previously available separately in stores, the box set marks the debut of the previously missing in action Volume One compilation. The Bonus DVD is a box set exclusive.
Each of the three Jackass volumes contain close to a hundred skits and range somewhere between 90 and 120 minutes. Most of the skits are a minute or two in length, which makes the discs running times seem even longer. Each skit is a separate chapter, which makes navigating the discs a breeze.
And speaking of skits, all the classics are here. If you missed Johnny Knoxville getting kicked in the crotch by school children, Bam Margera shooting his father with a paintball gun or Ryan Dunn jumping in to a giant vat of unprocessed sewage, youll get to see them all here in pure DVD glory. All the footage contained was shot on handheld DV cameras and looks as good as its ever going to. The video is full-screen and audio is stereo, just like when the episodes aired.
Each of the three volumes also contain a commentary track. I was initally disappointed to discover that each commentary track only covers the first half of each disc, but after hearing them it didnt really matter. Each of the commentary tracks consist of a dozen or so Jackass members all talking (or usually yelling) over one another at the same time. The majority of the commentary is so jumbled its like listening to a bunch of drunks at a party in the next apartment. Its terrible. On top of that, every persons name mentioned in the track (except for the people in the room) is bleeped out, so entire conversations become huge sections of beeps combined with people yelling. Coming from someone who enjoys both the Jackass show and DVD commentary tracks in general, I found the entire thing annoying, grating and pointless.
The bonus disc contains the Gumball Rally special (with another drunken commentary), the MTV Jackass Cribs episode, two never before seen skits (nothing great), a couple of award appearances, and a photo gallery. The best feature on the disc is the inappropriately titled Where Are They Now documentary, which actually spends most of its time focusing on the backstory behind Jackass (Big Brother magazine, CKY, and more). Anyone remotely interested in the show will enjoy the new documentary.
Jackass: The Boxset includes just about everything you could possibly want that ever appeared on the television show. While not all of the shows skits appear here, I couldnt think of any missing that I was dying to see. For $40, youll get all the bodily fluids and physical comedy you could ever possibly want.