Time remains undefeated. For Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Danger Ehren, Preston Lacy, Wee Man, and yes, even Johnny Knoxville, Jackass as we knew it is no more. Best and Last isn’t the most apt title, but it’s still a joy to get one last hurrah from these boys before they all become the ball hanging Irving Zissmans Knoxville was making fun of, going for dick shots on all the other residents until they are thrown out of their retirement homes.
Not really a plot here. The OG’s above are joined by newer members Poopies, Zach Holmes, and Jasper Dolphin to go out with one last hurrah. What does that mean after the bull incident in Jackass Forever? The young bucks do all the really crazy stuff, while the old guard lean into the “old” part: nostalgically doing a greatest hits of famous pranks of Jackass past, as well as leaning into their upcoming years of incontinence, and fascination with aging dicks and buttholes. Plus a new cast member, Larry the Robot, ready to give his first prostate exam.
Jackass: Best and Last is Toy Story 4. Jackass Forever WAS the perfect ending; it showed how the brilliant stupidity of Knoxville and his buddies could bring a ragtag group of miscreants and outcasts together via the collaborative art of futile and stupid gestures. And, as importantly, how that lifestyle has a real danger and shelf life despite the Forever title. Where do you go after you peak? Best and Last isn’t quite a pale imitation of the past, but it feels like the period on the Jackass story. We get the best of the rest essentially: best of clips, footage we’ve never seen but should, injected with little bits of new material with our boys doing what they can with limitations in place on their aging bodies. Jackass’s ideal recipe in my book is 50-60% crazy ingenious stunts, 20-30% poop stuff, and 20-30% dick/balls humor. Best and Last can’t really commit the OG’s to 50-60%, so the young guys handle ~20-30% of the crazy stunts, and we up the other two to the majority.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t funny. Sense of humor never goes away, it just evolves with age. The Best and Last stuff is using their age as the driver. I’ve heard horror stories of the colonoscopy cocktail they make everyone drink to release all your bowels…so let’s just turn that into a game of twister! Gross, and magnificent! Robot prostate exam is as horrifying as you might expect, but throw a little peanut butter, extra crunchy in, and you’ve got yourself a banger sketch! The rest of the clips befit a bunch of aging people. We’ve got the interspersed best ofs that inject just a little guttural bellowing from their audacity, including the never before seen stuff that shows just how far the boys really tried to push the envelope for a laugh. Props to Steve-O, who really leaned into the fact that he wasn’t an MVP of a Jackass movie yet, by trying the most stuff here: you’re big winner for me bro. Hope your ass feels better.
At some point Paramount will try to resurrect Jackass for a new audience. But we just need to accept that Best and Last was the end. Knoxville and the old guys are sad, but ok with it, so you should just be too. Especially knowing they tried everything they could, putting buttholes, dicks, brains, and bodies on the line for yours and their amusement. Thank you Knox, just keep that electric taser away from me.