“Jackass: Best and Last” serves as both a farewell and a retrospective for the long-running stunt franchise. Rather than presenting an entirely new set of outrageous pranks, the film combines newly filmed material with extensive archival footage from more than two decades of “Jackass” history, creating a sendoff that reflects both the series’ legacy and the realities of its aging cast. 

The approach succeeds more often than not. While the heavy reliance on older footage sometimes makes the film feel more like a greatest-hits compilation than a brand-new installment, the mix of nostalgia and fresh stunts gives longtime fans an entertaining final chapter.

The newest “Jackass” film is mostly archival footage, with less than half of the film being new material. This format is a sad testament to the aging of the original “Jackass” crew. 

For example, after suffering from a brain hemorrhage while filming “Jackass Forever,” ringleader Johnny Knoxville has taken a step back from performing stunts himself.

There is a testament to the original cast’s aging within the members themselves. The film is also noticeably missing original cast members Ryan Dunn and Brandon Cole “Bam” Margera. The film pays tribute to Dunn who passed away in 2011 by featuring archive footage of his stunts such as the “Butt X-Ray,” and by stating “Ryan Dunn forever” in the film’s ending credits.

The film does a great job in honoring Dunn’s legacy by not making it a sob story, but rather a celebration of his life and his contributions to the franchise.

Margera, while featured in archive footage as recent as 2022 from “Jackass Forever,” isn’t included in any of the film’s new stunts due to a falling out with the rest of the crew. 

To make up for these absences, the film introduces a new cast member in its first stunt: a robot named Larry, who gives Steve-O a prostate exam. 

Larry acts as a cast member, quipping in with memorable one liners such as “This might be a bad time to tell you, but my license was revoked last week.”

The “Jackass” crew is not necessarily known for touching on current events, but Larry’s presence in the film almost speaks to the overwhelming presence of AI in today’s world. Larry is present in almost every new stunt, often having more screentime than some of the cast members themselves. 

While no members of the “Jackass” crew  have spoken up about their opinions on AI usage, it’s interesting to note the inclusion of a robot as a new cast member in today’s AI-driven world. The film’s inclusion and acceptance of AI, shows how the franchise tries to change with the times in its own brash way. 

The “Jackass” crew also introduced new members with the 2022 release of “Jackass Forever,” including the first female Jackass, Rachel Wolfson. Wolfson did multiple stunts in “ Forever,” but here, she has no stunts. 

Several other members of the new cast shined in this newest installment, all while Wolfson had nothing to do but stand and watch stunts be performed. B-roll footage throughout the credits revealed that Wolfson had in fact filmed new material, but it had all been cut.

Wolfson’s exclusion is damning but not surprising. Audiences might be uncomfortable watching a woman get hurt — but why make a big deal of your first woman cast member to simply not use her? 

It is a bad look: Wolfson standing, wearing crop tops and shorts, watching and cheering on the men. 

Wolfson proved to hold her own as a “Jackass” crew member in “Jackass Forever,” making her exclusion in this film unable to be ignored.

The film’s highlight was Steve-O’s final ridiculous stunt: swallowing a ping-pong ball and attempting to digest it in one go. Halfway through the stunt, the daredevil reported that he had only pretended to swallow the ball, and he had “stuffed a ping-pong ball up his ass earlier, but lost it.”

During this, Knoxville exclaimed what would be the film’s most iconic line: “Twenty-five years and we haven’t learned a goddamn thing.”

Knoxville’s words proved true. Despite the original cast aging, they still performed new stunts — though they were nowhere near as wild as they used to be. 

Original cast members Steve-O, Preston Lacy, Chris Pontius and Dave England warned audiences that when they reach a certain age, they’ll have to prepare for a colonoscopy, just before drinking liquid laxatives and playing a round of Twister.

The film ends with a final homage to the beginning of the franchise. “Jackass: The Movie,” released in 2002, opened with the original cast barreling down a street in a giant shopping cart through explosions. “Best and Last” ends the same way: with the original cast, now older and none the wiser, in that same shopping cart. The film succeeds because it embraces its history, rather than trying to recapture its past. 

Most of the audience at an early screening were too young to be a “Jackass” fan during its heyday, yet they cheered and laughed anyway. Whether it be through their parents or the internet, it is obvious that they’ve found some amount of comfort in the franchise, speaking to its timelessness.

Because of this self-awareness and commentary, “Jackass: Best and Last” proves to be a worthy send-off to the franchise, and a perfect goodbye to the Jackasses who started it all. 

“Jackass: Best and Last” is playing in theaters nationwide, including at AMC Roosevelt Collection 16 in the South Loop.

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