Jackass: The Movie

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Uncensored version of the TV show

Because of the nature of the film, everyone involved knew they could get away with doing stunts that would never get past television network censors. To that end, they included skits that involved profanity (such as April Says Fuck, which she screams after seeing an alligator in her kitchen), extreme stunts (such as Rocket Skates, which was filmed for the television show but wasn’t allowed to air due to the network censors), and extremely crude humor (such as Butt X-Ray, which involves inserting a toy car wrapped in a condom into Ryan Dunn’s rectum and getting X-rays of his rear end) while Dave defecates in a display toilet in a plumbing store showroom.

For a full listing of the stunts performed in this movie, see Stunts performed in Jackass:The Movie.

“We just killed Johnny Knoxville”

Because of the extreme nature of some of the stunts, as well as unforseen accidents, the possibility of serious injury or death was always present. The first stunt of the movie outside of the opening credits, Rent-A-Car Crash-Up Derby, clearly shows how dangerous these stunts could be. In the skit, Johnny dresses in a long coat and dark glasses and rents a car, which he then has outfitted to be used in a demolition derby. Towards the end, one of the other participating cars backs into the hood of Johnny’s Ford Contour and cracks the windshield with the tire. As director Jeff Tremaine explained on the commentary track of the movie, this was the first time (though not the last) that he thought, “Wow, we just killed Johnny Knoxville.” Other skits, such as Golf Cart Antics, ended with an accident that could have resulted in the death of a performer (in this case again, Johnny was affected—nearly breaking his neck and suffering from a concussion as the result of a flipped golf cart).

The “Failed Ending”

In the ending of the film, Johnny Knoxville is launched from a catapult into a pond, where Rip Taylor sits in a boat, announcing that “this is the end.” This is followed with the credits being shown over outtakes from the movie. The original ending for the movie was supposed to be a Rube Goldberg-type contraption, with each of the cast members performing a stunt that either has something to do with what they did on the show (for example, the first stunt would have Preston as ‘The Human Wrecking Ball’, knocking him into a Port-A-Potty), or simply for a sight gag (such as Ehren being knocked over in the Port-A-Potty and landing on a bed of toilet paper rolls), ending with Johnny being launched off the catapult next to Rip Taylor. However, as the entire contraption didn’t work together the way they wanted it to, the producers of the movie decided to try filming an alternate ending, which is how they came to film the “Son Of Jackass” skit. The Son Of Jackass skit involves dressing all the performers in ‘old man’ clothing and having them run around exploding buildings and sheds, with only Steve-O surviving to proclaim “Yeah, dude.” Some bits of the failed ending were incorporated into the end credits montage, like the penis skateboarder and the giant Plinko machine. Also, stunt double John Henry was supposed to place his head into an alligator’s mouth as the movie ended.

Cut out

Because of the sensitive nature of some of the stunts, as well as the possibility of legal action, some parts of the movie had to be edited out. One example of this is in the Riot Control Test skit. In this skit, Johnny Knoxville puts on a chest protector and is shot at with a beanbag projectile from a pump-action shotgun.

The first time Knoxville is shot at, the shot goes wide, which makes him extremely nervous. The scene was later edited out as, while the “Jackass” crew could waive civil liability, they could not waive criminal liability. Hence should Johnny or any cast member have been killed or grievously injured as a result of a stunt, the producers of the movie could possibly be held liable on the grounds of negligent or reckless homicide or battery. While Knoxville and other Jackass participants are clearly aware of the risks involved in their stunts, the threat of criminal liability was significant enough that the Los Angeles law firm Irell & Manella advised cutting out segments which could potentially be used as evidence in such a case.

In addition, the final skit in the movie called “Butt X-Ray” was edited to remove the insertion of the toy car into Ryan Dunn’s anus, the reason being that displaying the insertion might have been considered pornographic or otherwise highly objectionable by the MPAA, and could have earned the film an NC-17 rating, severely limiting its distribution.

The Japanese version

Since some scenes of the movie were shot in Tokyo, Japan, a special edited version was made and screened for Japanese audiences. Some bits were edited out for legal reasons (especially scenes showing people’s faces without their consent); however, they were placed back in for the special DVD version.

A reason for filming extensively in Japan is that laws requiring non-consenting participants to have their faces blurred out do not apply in Japan.[1]

The sequel

Main article: Jackass: Number Two

Jackass: The Movie was filmed with a modest budget of approximately $5 million, but earned more than $22 million during its opening weekend, effectively managing to secure the top spot at the box office for its debut. It eventually grossed more than $64 million in North America alone.

As a result, although the cast and crew said many times that a sequel to Jackass: the Movie would never be made, Paramount Pictures filmed a sequel to the movie. The sequel was released on September 22, 2006.

According to Rip Taylor, the sequel was to be called “Son of Jackass.” This was a joke, of course, but Knoxville replied, “To answer all the questions from the first film?”