Image via Complex Original
Over the course of three television seasons, countless spinoffs, five feature films, and one movie yet to come, Jackass co-creators Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, and Spike Jonze—and stars Steve-O, Bam Margera, Ehren McGhehey, the late Ryan Dunn, and Wee Man—have certainly lived up to their collective title. For the past 13 years, fans of the famed pranksters have watched as they’ve inflicted pain on themselves (and each other) and caught the real-life reactions of everyday citizens who’ve been unwittingly dragged into their madness.
With Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa hitting theaters this Friday, the tradition will, thankfully, continue. From the silly (in a good way) to the stupid (in a great way) and the suicidal (in the best possible way), these are Jackass' 25 Most Painfully Funny Moments.
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25. Bull Through the Window
From: Jackass Number Two
For all the crazy bullshit the Jackass fellas put themselves through, this seriously dangerous move—pulled by Johnny Knoxville for their second movie's opener—is literally some bull-shit. As in, Knoxville's in a world of you-know-what as this bull leaps onto him.
24. Treadmill Shit Show
From: Jackass 3.5
If you've ever watched in sadistic amusement as someone slips and falls off a treadmill, try watching eight guys intentionally slip and fall off a line of treadmills, placed back-to-back.
23. Master Blaster
From: Jackass 3D
If you're old enough to remember the television commercials that turned Maxell into a pop culture phenomenon in the 1980s, then you likely wondered, at least once in your life, how they were created. Ryan Dunn attempted to find out in Jackass 3D, but quickly discovered that it was not with the aid of an airplane engine.
22. Phil Margera, Punching Bag
From: Various episodes
Phil Margera isn't an "official" member of the Jackass crew, but he's their favorite punching bag. Particularly for his son, Bam, whose frequent on-camera (and unprovoked) attacks of his father became a staple of the MTV series and the films that followed. The bathroom is one of Bam's favorite places to kick the shit out of his dad (pun intended).
21. Bam's Mom
From: Jackass: The Movie
April Margera, Bam’s mom, also became an unwitting player in the Jackass franchise. In one legendary scene from Jackass: The Movie, she comes home to find an alligator has taken up residence in her kitchen, which she quickly—and loudly—declares is “the scariest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
20. Bobbing for Jellyfish
From: Season 2, Episode 8
Any great group of pranksters needs someone like Steve-O on their team, a guy who will do anything for a laugh. Or if someone dares him. In the series' second season, he bravely won a game of "bobbing for jellyfish."
19. Irving Zisman, Motorcycle Man
From: Jackass 3D
If the image of an old man riding a toy rocket through a store's window makes you laugh in the trailer for Bad Grandpa, try watching that same old man drive a motorcycle through a window in Jackass 3D. Equally amazing.
18. Alligator Nipple Bite
From: Jackass Number Two
How much can a baby alligator's teeth really hurt? Johnny Knoxville's expression and the mark left on his nipple say it all.
17. Cup Test
From: Season 2, Episode 1
Any guy who has ever played organized football knows that a cup (or, jock strap) is a requirement. Johnny Knoxville puts this particular piece of athletic protection to the test with the help of a sledgehammer. Spoiler alert: It still hurts.
16. Runaway Casket
From: Season 1, Episode 7
Some of Jackass' most memorable moments come from the people whose reactions are caught on camera. Case in point: The nonchalance of the man who watches as a casket falls out of a hearse. It's priceless.
15. Rocket Skates
From: Jackass: The Movie
At the most basic level, a pair of rocket-powered rollerblades could actually come in handy for getting around in a flash. But when the "rocket power" in question comes from a handful of ignited bottle rockets, the results are likely to be a little messy. See above.
14. Off-Road Tattoo
From: Jackass: The Movie
Henry Rollins joined in on the Jackass fun as the driver for this mobile stunt, in which Steve-O gets tattooed during an off-roading adventure. The result—a smiley face on his arm—is, unsurprisingly, a bloody mess.
13. Human Bowling
From: Jackass: The Movie
Ehren McGhehey is known as "Danger Ehren" for a reason: namely, his tendency to be the first to volunteer for some of the group’s most death-defying stunts. In Jackass: The Movie, he experiences a day in the life of a bowling ball.
12. Pin the Tail on the Donkey
From: Jackass 3D
Ehren McGhehey lived up to his nickname "Danger Ehren" yet again in Jackass 3D when he played a game of "pin the tail on the donkey," while blindfolded, and with a real donkey. (Yes, the donkey won.)
11. Paintball Bullseye
From: Rolling Stone cover shoot
In February 2001, Johnny Knoxville appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone. And to achieve the kind of realistically pained cover image the magazine was hoping for, he was dressed up like a bullseye and attacked by his cohorts with paintball guns. Because of course he was.
9. High-Five
From: Jackass 3D
3D made a funny stunt even funnier when Bam Margera got an unexpectedly hearty high-five from the world's largest hand.
8. Mousetraps
From: Jackass: The Movie
Because rolling around on a floor covered in hundreds of mousetraps wasn't painful enough, Ehren McGhehey's cohorts decided to throw a few more directly at him.
7. Anaconda Ball Pit
From: Jackass Number Two
Johnny Knoxville, Ryan Dunn, and Wee Man go head-to-head with a giant anaconda in the kind of kiddie ball pit you'd find at any Chuck E. Cheese. But the trio is clearly overmatched.
6. Muscle Stimulators
From: Jackass: The Movie
Johnny Knoxville, Ehren McGhehey, and Dave England spend an afternoon shocking each other with what looks like a harmless muscle stimulator. The results, however, prove otherwise, particularly when they move the electrodes below the belt.
5. Fun With Fireworks
From: Jackass: The Movie
You don't even need to see his face to know that the Jackass who would set off fireworks from his ass crack is Steve-O. Whether the fireworks fly or not doesn't really matter. It's going to be painful either way.
4. Poo Cocktail Supreme
From: Jackass 3D
The "Poo Cocktail" was introduced in Jackass' pilot episode—but don't worry, it's not what it sounds like. Well, not exactly what it sounds like. In that introductory episode, Knoxville locks himself in a Porta Potty, which is promptly tipped upside down.
In Jackass 3D, Steve-O is the one inside the porta potty attached to a couple of bungee cords that shake it up and down. Which is made about 100 times more sickening in three dimensions.
3. Johnny Coxville
From: Season 1, Episode 1
Jackass' first real bit, which came to be known as "Johnny Coxville" in re-runs, proves that everything is funnier with an erection. Knoxville sets out for a day of errands—including a game of pickup basketball, a trip to the guitar store, a pedicure, shoe shopping, and a workout at the gym—with a fake (and very promiment) erection in place.
We're not sure what's funnier: the people who mention it or those who don't. But a highlight of the bit is when he knocks over a guy's cup of coffee with his very visible penis.
2. The Toy Car
From: Jackass: The Movie
Ryan Dunn was fully committed to what is probably his best-known stunt, in which he shoves a tiny toy car into his rectum and then pays a visit to the doctor to see if he can diagnose the problem. Can you say "greatest X-ray ever"?
1. Terror Taxi
From: Jackass Number Two
“Terror Taxi” is one of Jackass’ most convoluted stunts, and is the first one both Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine point to as one of their most memorable. Here's the setup: The guys tell Ehren McGhehey that they're going to dress him up like a terrorist and prank a taxi driver on the way to the airport. Ehren embraces the gag, including the time-consuming application of a full beard.
But the taxi driver is actually writer-director Jay Chandrasekhar, who turns the tables on Ehren when he pulls out a gun, puts him in the trunk, and makes him believe that he has shot Bam. Just when you think Ehren's about to lose it completely, the guys pop out and tell him that the joke was on him all along... including his face. That beard he's wearing? It's made of the guys' freshly shaven pubic hair.
Ehren throws up. And... scene!