Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa. Rated MA 15+ (strong sexual references
and crude humour). 92 minutes. Directed by Jeff Tremaine. Written by Johnny
Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine.
Verdict: An audacious and hilarious road trip with the Jackass clowns.
Anyone familiar with the Jackass team’s shenanigans will have the time
of their lives watching Johnny Knoxville (made up to become the 86-year-old Irving
Zisman) wreak havoc across America as he takes his 8-year-old grandson Billy (Jackson
Nicoll) to the boy’s father Chuck (Greg Harris). Billy has to go and live with
his dad because his mum, Irving’s daughter Kimmie (Georgina Gates), is about to
go to jail. Complicating matters even further, is that Irving has decided to
put the body of his recently departed wife Ellie (Catherine Keener) in the boot
of his car while he decides where to finally lay her to rest.
So are those irascible, tear-away Jackass boys and girls finally
growing up? Hardly, but there is a subtle line about the value of meaningful
familial relationships beneath the surface of this hilarious, hidden camera
caper that lends their latest outing an additional layer of irresistible charm.
It’s impossible to write in too much detail about the plot, because to
give too much away would be to deny you the opportunity to witness it all
unfurl with occasionally jaw-dropping amazement. The hidden camera footage is
simply fantastic, as one, poor unsuspecting soul after another becomes a
participant in Knoxville’s daring side steps into the lives of everyone he
comes across. While some are certainly more successful than others, nothing
will have prepared you for the funeral parlour and beauty pageant sequences –
the most spectacular examples of just how audacious and hilarious the Jackass
creative team can be.
The essence of the hidden camera is that the unpredictable happens, and
the resulting level of anxiety as each new sequence begins ensures that the
film remains absolutely riveting. Knoxville is in complete command of the
proceedings, and he receives stunning support from young Jackson Nicoll (The
Fighter, What's Your Number? Fun Size), who matches the expert Knoxville every
step of the way.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
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