Paramount Studios presents

Jackass Volume 2 (2001)

"Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville and welcome to Jackass."- Johnny Knoxville

Stars: Johnny Knoxville, Steve O, Bam Margera
Other Stars: Chris Pontius, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Brandon Dicamillo, Ehren McGhehey
Director: unknown

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for outrageous stunts, bleeped language, sexual references
Run Time: 01h:18m:11s
Release Date: 2002-12-10
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B	C+	B	C+	C

 

DVD Review

In an age when ridiculousness runs rampant in main stream releases, it seems as though Jackass may well be the benchmark by which all others are measured. Since beginning its run on MTV, this show has become a sort of unstoppable pop culture phenomenon, a fact made more apparent by the enormous success of the first feature length film to feature the Jackass crew last year. The looming question is: Why has this series become the success that it is? The best answer I can give is that it is just a lot of fun.

The premise of the show is fairly simplistic in its design. Led by Johnny Knoxville, the band of pranksters seek out the most disturbing and sadistic manners of entertainment for the simple hope of making the viewer laugh. The show came to life when Knoxville, working for the skateboarding magazine, Big Brother, made a videotape of himself testing protective equipment and it caught the eye of the executives at MTV. The rest is, as they say, history.

There are moments in each of the moronic bits that leave me shaking my head in bewilderment. Take for instance chapter sixteen of this, Jackass: Volume 2, a sequence that involves Steve O getting a piercing that will force his buttocks to be clasped together. Funny? I suppose it depends on your outlook on life. Or another instance, a segment in chapter eleven where Johnny Knoxville gets hammered by the University of Tennessee football team as he practices punt returns. Funny? Well, you get the idea.

Other highlights (or low points depending on how you look at it) feature a game of jai alai where Johnny and Steve O are the unwilling targets. There's a crazy BMX and skateboard ramp where pro athletes Tony Hawk and Matt Hoffman do a loop into a river dressed in chicken suits, and also a trick where Steve O snorts an earthworm into his nose only to see it come out of his mouth. If you are squirming at the very thought of these scenarios, then maybe Jackass: Volume 2 is not for you.

This behavoir is entertaining to be certain, but after awhile the repetition of the insane stunts and outrageous humor grows tiresome. The material runs a lengthy seventy-eight minutes and to be honest, I was ready to get up off of my couch about forty-five minutes in. Still, taken individually or randomly the segments work extremely well. Too much though proves to be a bad thing.



Rating for Style: B
Rating for Substance: C+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Presented in a full-frame aspect ratio, Jackass: Volume 2 looks better than it did in its original airings on MTV, though not by much. Shot on digital video, the image often appears soft and grainy, though given the budget this is to be expected. Colors come off nicely while sharpness and detail each look fine as well. I wish there were something more I could say about the transfer, but given the material I suppose an average image is certainly more than I expected.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The audio is presented in Dolby Surround and like the video, is simply average. Dialogue sounds rough from time to time, but I noticed no heavy distortion to speak of. My lone complaint is that the transfer seems to have been mixed at a low level as I had to turn my receiver up past normal listening levels to be able to clearly understand what the participants were saying.

Audio Transfer Grade: C+ 

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 35 cues and remote access
Cast and Crew Biographies
Packaging: Alpha
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Photo Gallery
2. Trivia Game

Extras Review: The special features for Jackass: Volume 2 are slim, but entertaining. A photo gallery of images from the show as well as behind-the-scenes is offered, as is a trivia game where the participant must answer questions about the show. Finally, there is a section of cast bios.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

There is a large part of me that is at once ecstatic to have Jackass on DVD for the reason that I can go to several of the segments I adore with simple ease. Another is conflicted by the simple fact that the show becomes tiresome after such a short amount of time. For fans of the show, the DVD is certainly a "must have."

Kevin Clemons 2003-01-06