The word "hero" shouldn't be tossed around too carelessly, but it's safe to say that the Jackass crew are the greatest heroes in American history. The rag-tag crew of stuntmen/pranksters/maniacs put themselves in harm's way just to entertain TV and film audiences around the country.
From ridiculous tattoos to the need to use catheters, many of the Jackass boys have achieved permanent marks of their insanity. So, to commend the franchise, here are 10 of the most memorable and outrageous moments from the Jackass film series.
Electric Seat
The Jackass crew always play pranks on each other, and sometimes the simple ones get the best results. In this gag, Jason "Wee Man" Acuña is told to sit on a stool and will have cards thrown into his butt crack by a professional card thrower. However, the real bit is that the stool is electrified, and every time a card is thrown at Wee Man's butt, the crew sets off a shock.
The best part is that when Wee Man apparently catches on, his deduction is that it's a "machine," which gets the crew laughing. He then specifies that it's a "card throwing machine," making the gag all the funnier.
Brawl With Butterbean
Butterbean, AKA Eric Esch and world super heavyweight boxing champion, vs. Jackass leader Johnny Knoxville was never a fair fight, but that's what made the stunt so funny. Butterbean and Knoxville duke it out in the middle of a store, to the confusion of all of the customers and store staff.
In just seconds, Butterbean pummels Knoxville and sends him to knock-outville, and the crew rushes to wake him up from the vicious clobbering. When he does wake up, the dazed and bloody Knoxville asks in a slurred voice "Is Butterbean okay?" It's a miracle Knoxville didn't hit his head on one of the nearby glass corners in the store.
Valentine's Day Love Notes
As always, the Jackass crew pull stunts on each other just as much, if not more, than they do on strangers. In this sketch, the setup is brilliant, playing on everyone's egos and their testosterone. Members of the crew are told that a crazed groupie has left a Valentine's Day note on one of the doors of their rooms. Obviously, they are encouraged to read it.
The note is extremely praising and sexual, and the handwriting gradually gets smaller from the top to the bottom. And just when it gets really in detail at the bottom with the smallest handwriting...a massive boxing fist bursts out of the note, with Knoxville at the trigger.
Bad Grandpa
The impressive makeup behind the sketches in the Jackass films made these "Bad Grandpa" pranks work so effectively. It truly was a cinematic kind of stunt. In fact, they did so well and the crew had so much fun, that Bad Grandpa got its own spin-off film.
In all three of the Jackass films, they involve Knoxville and other members of the crew dressing up in geriatric (and yes, Oscar-nominated) old people disguises and wreaking havoc with their youthful and filthy minds in their fragile-looking bodies.
Bungee Porta-Potty
For the "Poo Cocktail Supreme," the ever-enduring and charismatic Steve-O was launched into the air whilst riding inside of a used portable toilet, a porta-potty. A crane lifted a cord attached to the cord up, and like the world's worst flight simulator, Steve-O and all of the toilet's contents flew high into the sky.
The terrifying close-quarters proximity to the contents of the toilet dwarf the thought of being tossed into the sky, and sure enough, the results are haunting for both the crew and the audience alike.
Rent A Car
In one of the more mean-spirited pranks, the Jackass crew had Knoxville rent a car from a car rental company. From there, they took it to a demolition derby and absolutely trashed it, with the car almost completely unrecognizable afterward.
As the cherry on top, sex dolls were put in the car as a final gag. Upon the return, the rental shop owner was shocked so badly that he couldn't properly even get his anger out. And to make matters worse/better, Knoxville noted he generously "left a full tank of gas."
"Public" Toilet
Dave England is, hands down, the most disgusting member of the Jackass crew, something he takes pride in, dubbing himself "the world's first professional s***er." His stunts consistently revolve around the most horrid scenarios possible, such as eating a vomit omelet or eating out of trash cans, but perhaps the best part of England's grotesque stunts are when non-Jackass affiliated members of the public have to endure them.
In the first Jackass films, one of the simplest, yet funniest gags in the franchise is when England (after failing to hold it in on round one) walks into the middle of a hardware store and defecates into one of the display toilets, to the horror of everyone, simply stating "Oh, I'm sorry."
Toro Trotter
Bulls are not to be trifled with, but that never stopped the Jackass crew. In the "Toro Trotter," a large 4-way seesaw would prove to be an insanely dangerous and not-so-fun stunt. Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn were paired up with Johnny Knoxville and Chris Pontius, and all four jumped up and down to see who could last the longest.
While no one took it seriously, donning propeller hats while holding lollipops and balloons, right out the gate, the bull was angered by the movement and managed to cause complete chaos in just 30 seconds. Dunn jumped off and slammed himself into a wall in terror, not looking where he was going, and Bam immediately bailed upon seeing Dunn's painful exit. Even Pontius, who usually grins throughout all of the Jackass stunts, was cursing and terrified instead of acting as his jolly self. Knoxville was the last man standing but was nearly gored by the bull, and the other crew members had to assist him to escape.
Toy Car X-Ray
Ryan Dunn was one of the more down to earth members of the Jackass crew, and certainly one of the warmest. Thus, he was the perfect choice for this prank, in which Dunn actually shoved a toy car up his butt, and checked himself into a hospital (while walking stiffly) to get the reaction from the staff. The payoff was absolutely worth the pain Dunn went through.
A flabbergasted nurse could do nothing but stare at the X-Ray photo, while silently judging Dunn. The doctor also went out of his way to politely warn Dunn to tell no one, unaware of the cameras. However, the best part was that Dunn maintained a perfect poker face throughout the whole ordeal.
Terror Taxi
One of the longest and most ludicrous gags in the Jackass series may very well be its best. "Danger" Ehren McGhehey is usually the butt of the majority of jokes and teasing from the Jackass crew, likely due to his susceptibility to losing teeth and his passionate and borderline whiny reactions to being pranked.
In "Terror Taxi," the crew outdid themselves. They convince Ehren that he will be playing a prank on a cab driver, dressing up as a terrorist and asking to go to the airport. In reality, the driver is in on an elaborate prank to fool Ehren into thinking the terror prank has gone horribly wrong. Laying out every detail and spoiling the gag would be a disservice to the effort put into it, but needless to say, a prankster couldn't do it without a victim, and both parties' reactions were a god-tier level of funny.
Time to see what Jackass 4 has in store.