Over the course of three (short) television seasons, countless spinoffs, and six feature films (if you include 2013’s Bad Grandpa, more if you include the extended versions), 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 over 25 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 the final Jackass film—Jackass: Best and Last—it made sense to remember one of the last relics of a forgone era, where, to fight the boredom of some days, you’d link with your friends to ride down hills in shopping carts, or run with bulls, or all other assorted versions of potentially maiming oneself. In a celebration of all things Jackass, these are the greatest moments in the history of Jackass (that don’t include Best and Last). These are Jackass' 25 Most Painfully Funny Moments.
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.
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.
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.
Broken Ride
From: Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa
Irving Zisman, the titular bad grandpa, tries to figure out why the ride Billy is on outside of the furniture store isn't working. Any suggestion for Irving to get on the ride is terrible, and we're not sure how it had that much power to hurl this bad grandpa through the window of said furniture store, but we're here now.
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.
Phil Margera, Punching Bag
From: Various Jackass 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).
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.”
Bobbing for Jellyfish
From: Jackass 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."
Irving Zisman, Motorcycle Man
From: Jackass 3D
If the aforementioned image of an old man riding a toy rocket through a store's window from Bad Grandpa made you laugh, try watching that same old man drive a motorcycle through a window in Jackass 3D. Equally amazing.
Runaway Casket
From: Jackass 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.
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.
Alligator Nipple Bite
From: Jackass: The Movie
How much can a baby alligator's teeth really hurt? Johnny Knoxville's expression and the mark left on his nipple say it all.
The Cup Test
From: Jackass 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
Paintball Bullseye
From: Jackass Season 2, Episode 5
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.
Cup Test
From: Jackass Forever
In an update of Johnny Knoxville's original "Cup Test" from the Jackass MTV series, Ehren is now in Knoxville's place, testing to see if a cup can withstand a punch from Francis Ngannou, a world record hard puncher. (Ehren's cup cracked after a punch from Francis). Ehren then went through a softball test (with the fast-pitching Danielle O'Toole) and a hockey puck test (with former New Jersey Devil P. K. Subban). His final test? Dave England on a pogo stick.
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.
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"?
The Magic Trick
From: Jackass Forever
It's fitting that we're book-ended by Johnny Knoxville and bulls, but this stunt from Jackass Forever—in which Knoxville makes a glass of milk disappear in his hat before being confronted by a charging bull—ended up being the one of the most violent to Knoxville personally, who didn't immediately get up like they Jackass guys always do. Knoxville told Howard Stern that he suffered brain damage from this hit, calling it "the worst hit I've ever taken from a bull, or maybe period." (Knoxville also suffered a broken wrist, a concussion, and broken ribs from the ordeal.)
