The Genius of JACKASS

I love Jackass.

And I'm not even remotely embarrassed to admit it, in fact, I'm proud of it.

I am a card-carrying member of the Jackass fan club, and I think the entire franchise (from the original MTV series to the feature films to the spin-offs and now the bittersweet final chapter) is one of the funniest, most joyous, and most misunderstood pieces of pop culture from the last quarter century.

When Jackass premiered on MTV in October of 2000, I was there from day one. Like a lot of people, I initially thought, "Well, this is just a bunch of idiots hurting themselves." And on the surface, that's exactly what it is.

There are shopping carts crashing into walls, people getting shot with paintballs and beanbags, shopping carts flying through the air, body parts meeting angry animals, and enough concussions to keep neurologists employed for generations.

But that's only scratching the surface. What really makes Jackass work isn't the pain, it's the friendship.

I've always believed that underneath all the insanity, the broken bones, the bruises, the bee stings, the explosions, and the spectacularly poor decision-making is a genuine celebration of camaraderie, male friendship in particular. These are guys who absolutely adore making each other laugh.

They prank each other mercilessly, they torture each other endlessly, and they somehow come out the other side still wanting to hang out together. There's something weirdly beautiful about that.

The franchise itself has fascinating roots. Before Jackass ever landed on MTV, Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, and Spike Jonze were kicking around ideas inspired by the skateboarding world surrounding Big Brother magazine.

Knoxville famously tested pepper spray, stun guns, Tasers, and even firearms while wearing body armor, filming the results because no publication would touch the liability. Around the same time, Bam Margera and his Pennsylvania buddies (including Ryan Dunn and Brandon DiCamillo) were making the gloriously chaotic CKY videos, blending skateboarding with pranks and self-inflicted punishment in ways that developed an underground cult following.

When those worlds collided, Jackass was born.

And television was never quite the same.

The original cast (Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn, Jason "Wee Man" Acuña, Dave England, Danger Ehren McGhehey, Preston Lacy, and the rest of this collection of lovable lunatics) created something that looked completely disposable but somehow became iconic.

The MTV series only ran for three short seasons, yet it left an enormous footprint on popular culture. It inspired countless imitators, horrified parents, delighted teenagers, and permanently changed what shock comedy could look like.

The influence extended far beyond the original show. Wildboyz sent Steve-O and Chris Pontius around the globe to antagonize dangerous animals with astonishing enthusiasm. Viva La Bam may actually be my favorite spin-off, watching Bam terrorize Phil, April, Don Vito, and the rest of his long-suffering family with increasingly elaborate pranks.

Ryan Dunn had Homewrecker. Steve-O branched off into his own projects. The spirit of Jackass even echoed through shows like Nitro Circus and eventually Ridiculousness, with Rob Dyrdek carrying forward that same skate-culture DNA into one of MTV's biggest and longest-running successes.

And let's not forget one very important influence that deserves credit: Tom Green.

Long before Jackass, Tom Green was pulling outrageous hidden-camera stunts and surreal practical jokes on unsuspecting people, creating a style of comedy that clearly paved part of the road Knoxville and company would later travel.

I have long believed that Freddy Got Fingered is one of the great misunderstood surreal comedies of its era, and Green's fearless commitment to absurdity absolutely helped shape the comic landscape that made Jackass possible.

Then came the movies.

Freed from MTV's restrictions, the gang exploded onto the big screen with Jackass: The Movie in 2002, and I still think it's one of the funniest films ever made. I've watched it countless times (honestly, probably hundreds of times) and I laugh just as hard today as I did the first time I saw it.

The sequels only escalated the madness, with bigger stunts, more elaborate setups, and an almost superhuman willingness to absorb punishment for our amusement. Every installment contains moments that make me howl with laughter while simultaneously wondering how these people are still alive.

Because let's face it, they've paid a price.

Johnny Knoxville alone has endured enough broken bones, concussions, torn ligaments, and surgeries to fill an orthopedic textbook. Steve-O has been launched, bitten, burned, and battered. Nearly everyone involved has suffered serious injuries over the years. Their bodies have become living archives of bad ideas carried out with absolute commitment.

And somehow, they're still smiling.

That's another reason the franchise works so well. Through every stunt, every prank, every catastrophic wipeout, you can see how much these people genuinely enjoy one another's company. The laughter is infectious because it's real.

Even when someone gets nailed by a charging bull or blasted across a parking lot, the overwhelming feeling isn't cruelty, it's shared joy at the sheer stupidity of the situation.

I've spent hours watching Jackass. I own every movie. I've got the DVD and Blu-ray collections, the television episodes, the spin-offs...the whole deal. I can put any random stunt compilation on and lose an afternoon without regret. It's comfort viewing for me, if your definition of comfort includes tasers, snakes, porta-potties, and shopping carts.

And yes, I realize that says something about me.

The latest chapter, Jackass: Best and Last, serves as both a hilarious victory lap and an affectionate farewell. Watching these guys (now in their fifties) look back on nearly three decades of self-inflicted abuse while still finding new ways to make each other laugh is oddly touching. The new material works, the retrospective clips still kill, and if you've ever loved Jackass, it's impossible not to smile.

So in honor of this gloriously idiotic franchise, and in celebration of the communal laughter it has brought me and millions of others over the years, I've decided to narrow things down to my ten favorite stunts/clips.

Believe me, that was almost impossible. There are literally hundreds that could have made the cut. But these ten represent everything I love about Jackass: the fearlessness, the stupidity, the creativity, the friendship, the commitment to the bit, and the astonishing ability to turn pain into comedy.

So here are my ten favorite Jackass moments/stunts from the television series and the movies.

And yes…you should absolutely watch them. Just don't try them.

MY 10 FAVORITE JACKASS CLIPS OF ALL TIME (in random order):

1) GOLF COURSE AIR HORN

2) FIREWORKS WAKE UP

3) NUTBALL

4) RENT-A-CAR DEMOLITION DERBY

5) POO COCKTAIL SUPREME

6) THE BURGLARS

7) SUPER MIGHTY GLUE

8) THE HIGH FIVE

9) BIG RED ROCKET

Now, this one night actually be my favorite of all time:

10) SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

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