History Series / Jackass

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jackass_ex_ja04_4.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville. Welcome to Jackass!"'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville. Welcome to Jackass!"''[[note]]From left to right: [[DepravedDwarf Jason "Wee Man" Acuña]], [[VomitIndiscretionShot Steve-O]], [[PottyFailure Dave England]], [[TheBigGuy Preston Lacy]], [[LargeHam Brandon DiCamillo]], [[DeadpanSnarker Ryan Dunn]], [[TheQuincyPunk Bam Margera]], [[TheLeader Johnny Knoxville]], [[ButtMonkey Ehren McGhehey]], [[MrFanservice Chris Pontius]][[/note]]]]

** Next to Pontius and Steve-O, Ryan and Bam, to the extent that the latter went through a ''long'' breakdown following the former's death.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville. Welcome to Jackass!"''[[note]]From left to right: [[LittlePeopleAreSurreal Jason "Wee Man" Acuña]], [[VomitIndiscretionShot Steve-O]], [[PottyFailure Dave England]], [[TheBigGuy Preston Lacy]], [[LargeHam Brandon DiCamillo]], [[DeadpanSnarker Ryan Dunn]], [[TheQuincyPunk Bam Margera]], [[TheLeader Johnny Knoxville]], [[ButtMonkey Ehren McGhehey]], [[MrFanservice Chris Pontius]][[/note]]]]

!![[DontTryThisAtHome WARNING! The tropes in this article were contributed by trained professionals. So for your safety, and the protection of those around you, do not attempt to submit any of these tropes you are about to read.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville. Welcome to Jackass!''[[note]]From left to right: [[LittlePeopleAreSurreal Jason "Wee Man" Acuña]], [[VomitIndiscretionShot Steve-O]], [[PottyFailure Dave England]], [[TheBigGuy Preston Lacy]], [[LargeHam Brandon DiCamillo]], [[DeadpanSnarker Ryan Dunn]], [[TheQuincyPunk Bam Margera]], [[TheLeader Johnny Knoxville]], [[ButtMonkey Ehren McGhehey]], [[MrFanservice Chris Pontius]][[/note]]]]

''Jackass'' has roots in skateboard culture with the magazine ''Big Brother'', headed by series director and co-creator Jeff Tremaine, as well as the "Camp Kill Yourself" (or Music/{{CKY}}) humor/stunt video series of castmate Bam Margera. Its point of origin was eventual cast leader Creator/JohnnyKnoxville (then a struggling actor and ''Big Brother'' writer) pitching an article about becoming a human guinea pig for various self-defense weapons -- which culminated in Knoxville getting shot in the chest to test out a bulletproof vest. Tremaine and his editors, upon filming test footage, found it so funny that the rest of the staff (including Knoxville, Dave England, Chris Pontius and Steve-O) got in on recording similarly masochistic videos.

** According to 3.5, Dave is such a mean drunkard that the rest of the guys nicknamed his drunken self "Darf".

** The first film's [[TheStinger post-credits sequence]] turns this into BloodyHilarious, as the elderly Jackass crew are killed off in increasingly gory ways.
* ArchEnemy: Snapping turtles for Steve-O. He dreads all stunts involving them.

* AsideGlance: In the intro of ''2.5'', Knoxville pulls one of these after stating that he wanted to honor the men who made risking their lives for humor "their ''[[HehHehYouSaidX duty]]''."

** Hot Wheels + Ryan Dunn's anus, noted below.
** And then in the sequel, the Strongman challenge. [[spoiler: High-speed golden dildo + Bam Margera's ass. It barely misses his anus.)]]
---->''"Is it wrong to be strong? You be the judge."''

* ProductionForeshadowing: In the cast commentary for ''Jackass: The Movie,'' Steve-O comments (during the 90-year-old shoplifter prank) that "There should be a whole movie with nothing but this." Cue ''Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa''.

* RunningGag: The cast and crew being the victim of a hair buzzer happens frequently in between stunts in the first movie.

** To support Steve-O's rehabilitation, the cast made sure that no beer was available on set during the filming of ''Jackass 3D'', so ''everyone'' performed sober. Which may explain why they appear to be noticeably more miserable.

----

** When 15 gallons of pig semen is dumped on him (and as pointed out, a small drop falls into his mouth), Dave England has a choice reaction after finding out what substance it was.

A reality comedy TV series created that aired on Creator/{{MTV}} from 2000 to 2002, and an inextricable slice of American pop culture for the decade to come, ''Jackass'' ran on the format of each episode being a compilation of segments featuring the show's cast of nine "stuntmen, skateboarders and all-around lunatics" performing pranks and stunts on themselves, each other, and -- through [[CandidCameraPrank hidden cameras]] -- the public. These segments range from juvenile to humiliating to [[ToiletHumor gross]] to [[ComedicSociopathy borderline torturous]] to mixes of some if not all of the four. It's pretty evident that if these guys weren't [[TrueCompanions such close friends]], [[WithFriendsLikeThese they'd be way too busy hating each other's guts]].

** Bam's reaction to the "Valentine" prank in the second movie: the "valentine" [[spoiler: covered up a hole in the wall, which concealed a boxing glove on a stick sticking out of an air compressor; the ''Jackass'' guys were goaded into getting hit by it when they had to lean in to read it because the writing suddenly got really really small.]] Eventually everyone got a kick out of it when they were subjected to it.
** In addition, the entire crew's reaction to the "High Five" in ''Jackass 3D'': [[spoiler: walking towards Wee-man will get a gigantic hand to pimp-slap you out of nowhere: even Ehren, who got hot soup splashed all over him, found it funny.]]

* ByWallThatIsHoley: At the end of ''Jackass Number Two''. Unfortunately for Knoxville, the wall fell because of a wrecking ball...

* ThisIsGonnaSuck:

** The Tee-Ball in the 3rd movie. Steve-O couldn't even bring himself to finish the intro, knowing full well that Ryan Dunn was going to hit a tee-ball ball directly into his unprotected nuts.

** Said word for word by Ehren, right before he gets his tooth pulled out [[spoiler:by a Lamborghini]].

--->''[[spoiler:(Introducing the "Butt Chug" skit)]]''

And so begins ''Jackass'' (2000-2002), either the most [[BodyHorror horrifying]] thing ever put on American television, the most [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome]] thing ever put on American television, the [[HoYay gayest]] (in more ways than one) thing ever put on American television, or a combination of all three. It all depends on who you ask.

Each episode is a compilation of segments featuring the show's cast of nine "stuntmen, skateboarders and all-around lunatics" performing pranks and stunts on themselves, each other, and -- through [[CandidCameraPrank hidden cameras]] -- the public. These segments range from the juvenile to the humiliating to the [[ToiletHumor gross]] to the [[ComedicSociopathy borderline torturous]] to bizarre mixes of the four; it's pretty evident that if these guys weren't [[TrueCompanions such close friends]], [[WithFriendsLikeThese they'd be way too busy hating each other's guts]].

''Jackass'' has roots in skateboard culture with the magazine ''Big Brother'', headed by series director Jeff Tremaine, as well as Bam Margera's humor/stunt video series "Camp Kill Yourself" (or Music/{{CKY}}), with its point of origin being Creator/JohnnyKnoxville (then a struggling actor and ''Big Brother'' writer) pitching an article about becoming a human guinea pig for various self-defense weapons -- which culminated in Knoxville getting shot in the chest to test out a bulletproof vest. Tremaine and his editors, upon filming test footage, found it so funny that the rest of the staff (including Knoxville, Dave England, Chris Pontius and Steve-O) got in on recording similarly masochistic videos.

When ''Big Brother'' began talks with Creator/SpikeJonze to create a pilot for Creator/{{MTV}}, the staff joined forces with Margera's group of skater friends, and after recruiting ex-snowboarder "Danger" Ehren [=McGhehey=], local legend Jason "Wee Man" Acuña, Bam's buddies Ryan Dunn and Brandon [=DiCamillo=], and commercial actor Preston Lacy into the mix, the conglomeration of Tremaine, Jonze, Margera, Knoxville, and their friends created ''Jackass''.

The format proved popular enough to spawn a video game and a series of [[TheMovie movies]] that allowed the gang to perform stunts and skits not possible on MTV, with some of the movies receiving companion movies of their own consisting of unused footage from their productions. A handful of movies were also released under the ''Jackass Presents'' label: a tribute to the then-recently deceased Evel Knievel, and the ''Film/{{Borat}}''-esque hidden camera comedy ''Bad Grandpa'', which is the first ''Jackass'' film to be nominated for an [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]]. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, really.]] (For makeup and hairstyling, but a nomination nonetheless.)

Three main films (the [[ThirdIs3D third in 3D]]) ended up being released four years apart between 2002 and 2010, and a fourth film, titled ''Jackass Forever'', was released on February 4, 2022. Apart from Ryan Dunn (who passed away in a car accident in 2011) and Bam Margera (who was confirmed not to be in the film due to ongoing substance abuse issues, though he still appeared in one scene that had been shot prior to his firing), the film features the rest of the original crew as well as a handful of new recruits. Although the team has grown reputations of being MadeOfIron, serious medical concerns over how much more their aging bodies can take has made ''Forever'' being the final film of the franchise very likely, with Knoxville confirming it will be his last. And for those who are wondering if they're playing it safe in any way, let it be known that Knoxville and Steve-O were hospitalized ''one day'' after shooting began.

** When 15 gallons of pig semen is dumped on him (and as pointed out, a small drop falls into his mouth), Dave England has an odd reaction after finding out what substance it was.
--->'''Dave England''': Pig Cum?! I’M A VEGETARIAN!

* DontTryThisAtHome: The show, for obvious reasons, starts with one such disclaimer OnceAnEpisode. [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness In the show's infancy]], the warning was far less serious:
-->"MTV insists that neither you or any of your dumb little buddies attempt this dangerous crap."
** It still shows up on the DVD covers, and has shown up in the ''Jackass 3D'' trailer.

* MaleFrontalNudity: There’s at least one scene in each Jackass movie with one of the crew members showing their penis, Chris Pontius often having the lion's share of on screen nudity. Jackass Forever probably takes the cake for having the most amount of male nudity in the entire franchise, possibly even film history.

** When Dave had to hold his crap in for a skit in the first movie in which he shat in store display toilet, the first take failed when he couldn't hold it in any longer and took a loud, massive dump in his pants. Cue the entire gang running out of the limo, laughing their asses off (and for a few of them, vomiting) as an embarrassed Dave desperately tries to clean up the horrible mess, giving the camera a view of his soiled underpants.
** In ''Forever'', Wee Man and Preston are about to replicate "the lift" from ''Film/DirtyDancing'' (presumably resulting in Wee Man being crushed under Preston's bulk) - but they don't even get to try it, as Preston loses control of his bowels. The attempt is canceled as the crew laugh hysterically and Preston leaves to change.

* PrecisionFStrike: During the first film, Bam notes that since they don't have to bleep any language, he promises to get [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]] April to say "fuck" on camera. A few scenes later, a prank involving an alligator on her kitchen floor does the trick.

* ScaryStingingSwarm: The Beehive Limo in the second movie, which gets warped into Beehive Tetherball in the third.
** Steve-O's jockstrap made of bees in Forever.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: [[TeamMom April Margera ]] is the only woman to have a prominent role in any show produced by the Jackass team.
** Averted with Rachel Wolfson, the first female Jackass, in Forever.

And so begins ''Jackass'' (2000-2002), either the most [[NightmareFuel horrifying]] thing ever put on American television, the most [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome awesome]] thing ever put on American television, the [[HoYay gayest]] (in more ways than one) thing ever put on American television, or a combination of all three. It all depends on who you ask.

Several cast members also received spin-off shows, ranging from Bam Margera's ''Series/VivaLaBam'' to the AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent spin-off ''Series/{{Wildboyz}}'', which featured Chris Pontius and Steve-O traveling to exotic locations around the globe and performing stunts, getting hurt by wildlife, and trying bizarre local customs. Some footage shot for ''Wildboyz'' would end up being repurposed for ''Jackass Number Two'' and ''Jackass 2.5''.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: The hour long "Gumball Rally" episode, which features Knoxville, Steve-O, and Pontius going through a relatively prank-free marathon race from Britain to Moscow and back.

-->--'''Ryan Dunn'''[='=]s explanation in ''Jackass Number Two'' for [[ItMakesSenseInContext stabbing Bam in the ass with a penis-shaped iron brand]]...or, more generally, the reason this show exists.

When ''Big Brother'' began talks with Creator/SpikeJonze to create a pilot for Creator/{{MTV}}, the staff joined forces with Margera's group of skater friends, and after recruiting ex-snowboarder "Danger" Ehren [=McGhehey=], local legend Creator/JasonAcuna, Bam's buddies Ryan Dunn and Brandon [=DiCamillo=], and commercial actor Preston Lacy into the mix, the conglomeration of Tremaine, Jonze, Margera, Knoxville, and their friends created ''Jackass''.

[[caption-width-right:350:''Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass!''[[note]]From left to right: [[LittlePeopleAreSurreal Jason "Wee Man" Acuña]], [[VomitIndiscretionShot Steve-O]], [[PottyFailure Dave England]], [[TheBigGuy Preston Lacy]], [[LargeHam Brandon DiCamillo]], [[DeadpanSnarker Ryan Dunn]], [[TheQuincyPunk Bam Margera]], [[TheLeader Johnny Knoxville]], [[ButtMonkey Ehren McGhehey]], [[MrFanservice Chris Pontius]][[/note]]]]

* MaleFrontalNudity: There’s at least one scene in each Jackass movie with one of the crew members showing their penis (usually to harm it in some sort of stunt), often it's Chris Pontius.
Jackass Forever probably takes the cake for having the most amount of male nudity in the entire franchise, possibly even film history.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Bam's reaction to the "Valentine" prank in the second movie: the "valentine" [[spoiler: covered up a hole in the wall, which concealed a boxing glove on a stick sticking out of an air compressor; the ''Jackass'' guys were goaded into getting hit by it when they had to lean in to read it because the writing suddenly got really really small.]] Eventually everyone got a kick out of it when they were subjected to it.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jackass_2002_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass!''[[note]]From left to right: [[ButtMonkey Ehren McGhehey]], [[LittlePeopleAreSurreal Jason "Wee Man" Acuña]], [[VomitIndiscretionShot Steve-O]], [[PottyFailure Dave England]], [[TheBigGuy Preston Lacy]], [[LargeHam Brandon DiCamillo]], [[DeadpanSnarker Ryan Dunn]], [[TheQuincyPunk Bam Margera]], [[TheLeader Johnny Knoxville]], [[MrFanservice Chris Pontius]][[/note]]]]

* AceCustom: Knoxville's hydraulic scooter, from the Old Man segment in ''Jackass 3D''. He can pop wheelies with the thing for extended amounts of time and drives around blaring rap.

** There's also a skit where Dave is dared by the Three 6 Mafia guys to eat a bit of horse shit. [[spoiler:Oh, and it was dry, too.]]

* RakeTake: Done by Steve-O in the second movie.

** Bam Margera is terrified of snakes. Obviously, they had to stick him in a trailer with a (devenomized) cobra in the second movie. He cried like a baby.
*** [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments And then they threw a rubber hose on his back.]] And that's after they chase him around with the snake.
*** Oh, yeah, the third movie '''gets even worse for him.''' They dump him into a pit full of snakes as revenge for his punching-glove pranks. Granted they were rubber snakes, but then they threw an boa constrictor in there. And, just in case you're wondering, they ''did'' throw another hose on his back.

* PottyFailure: When Dave had to hold his crap in for a skit in the first movie in which he shat in store display toilet, the first take failed when he couldn't hold it in any longer and took a loud, massive dump in his pants. Cue the entire gang running out of the limo, laughing their asses off (and for a few of them, vomiting) as an embarrassed Dave desperately tries to clean up the horrible mess, giving the camera a view of his soiled underpants.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:

Three main films (the [[ThirdIs3D third in 3D]]) ended up being released four years apart between 2002 and 2010, and a fourth film, titled ''Jackass Forever'', was released on February 4, 2022. Apart from Ryan Dunn (who passed away in a car accident in 2011) and Bam Margera (who was confirmed not to be in the film due to ongoing substance abuse issues), the film features the rest of the original crew as well as a handful of new recruits. Although the team has grown reputations of being MadeOfIron, serious medical concerns over how much more their aging bodies can take has made ''Forever'' being the final film of the franchise very likely, with Knoxville confirming it will be his last. And for those who are wondering if they're playing it safe in any way, let it be known that Knoxville and Steve-O were hospitalized ''one day'' after shooting began.