Johnny Knoxville keeps an amazingly consistent pace for a man now in his early 40s. Since creating his now cult classic MTV show “Jackass” in 2000, Knoxville hasn’t stopped doing what he does best, producing at surprisingly the same level of bearable mediocrity for over a decade.
With fellow “Jackass” creator Jeff Tremaine in tow as director, Knoxville pulls from what must be a very troubling vault of ideas in his mind once more for “Bad Grandpa,” a spiritual successor to the previous three “Jackass” films, but this time with more plot. He dons a slab of makeup fair enough to confuse passing bystanders and acts out the leading role of Irving Zisman, a character from a “Jackass Number Two” skit that evolves formulaically into his own storyline.
When his wife dies, Zisman, an uncomfortable presence for everyone he passes, is excited that he is finally free to seek the ladies, single or otherwise, in his town. His glee is interrupted, however, when he is given custody of his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll), and reluctantly agrees to take the joy-killer to live with his father.
The so-called plot then moves along without much direction, loosely combining traditional “Jackass” pranks into an overarching theme of bonding between Zisman and his grandson as they teach each other what they have to offer, whether it be “picking up chicks” or fart jokes turned cringe-worthy. As a buddy road trip film, “Bad Grandpa” goes as one would expect, presenting a lesson on friendship and relationships in the most raunchy way possible.
Knoxville hasn’t lost his edge, putting himself in embarrassingly amusing situations. Each prank plays out in “Borat” style, as hidden cameras follow the distressed reactions of pedestrians who somehow refrain from calling the police – at least on camera.
Many of the smaller pranks, heavily presented in montage form, involve Billy, whom Nicoll plays with amazing gusto. Cooperating in aspiring child star fashion, Nicoll gives a perfectly deadpan performance reluctantly following Knoxville’s shocking antics.
He sometimes ventures out onto the streets on his own as well, practically begging to be taken away to a new family. As the best part of the movie, Nicoll replaces the rest of the usual “Jackass” crew with the talent of a trained member.
Otherwise, “Bad Grandpa” succumbs to all the faults one would come to expect from a joke-heavy TV show turned into a feature length spinoff film. Any emotional value crammed into the plot, mainly at the end, is sillier than most of the film’s stunts, and unconvincingly makes Knoxville seem like he cares about the movie’s pretend events, his eyes glistening with tears under the wrinkled mask he wears. It’s the most ridiculous idea the “Jackass” crew have come up with so far.
Yet the most intriguing part of the “Jackass” films is that the comedy hasn’t become particularly tired yet. Knoxville’s demented idea of humor comes across as just tolerably demented, providing a few gags that receive chuckles from even the heartiest of moviegoers, and a few that raise the question as to why tickets were ever sold to audience members in the first place.
In general, though, it’s a formula so consistent that it’s almost upsetting. But does the “Jackass” crew pull it off anyway? To an extent, yes. And if any part of the movie shows that, it’s the ending credits, a series of bloopers and behind-the-scenes takes that feature the cast and crew laughing charmingly at the nonsense they’ve created, almost as much as they’re laughing at the audience for watching it.