10 Best Jackass Number Two Moments
8. Old Man Balls
Johnny Knoxville’s attempts to defy death on camera have only been matched in the realm of Jackass by his desire to use the platform as a pseudo prank show, and in Jackass Number Two we got our first glimpse of Bad Grandpa; the character who would front his own Jackass spin-off film Bad Grandpa in 2013. His best skit was “Old Man Balls”.
Dressed as an elderly man and sporting very short shorts, Knoxville attached some incredibly convincing prop testicles to himself, hung them from his groin and then terrified the unknowing public by bending over in front of them (exposing the balls) and accidentally rubbing the props on things.
Witnessing the average Joe react to who they presumed was an unknowing old man made for some classic Jackass hijinks and a funny first glimpse at a returning character.
7. Anaconda Ball Pit
In yet more Johnny Knoxville Hurts Himself for Our Viewing Pleasure, Captain Jackass took on a pair of Anacondas in a ball pit, taking charge of his crew’s confrontation with the world’s largest species of snake and receiving a spate of snake bites for his troubles.
Once the first big snake initiates contact, the pain Knoxville must be going through is clear to see – the ordeal initiates a primitive response to seeing a fellow human suffer at the hands of a rival species like this – but once the blood begins to pour in a deep purple, fear and panic set in. Not for Knoxville, but for us.
It’s one of those “how stupid can we be?” skits that as a viewer you understand was probably somewhat controlled but you still have no idea why anyone would want to be bitten by one of the world’s most fabled predators. Anaconda Ball Pit was less a funny skit and more vital evidence as to why these jackasses probably deserve more respect than they get.
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6. The Best of Times (Finale)
A large part of the Jackass movies’ separation from the ‘Jackass’ television show is the use of cinematic sequences at the start and end of each movie. In Jackass Number Two, it’s the epilogue that takes the cake.
Beginning with another Johnny Knoxville stunt – the star this time having his arm crushed in a bear trap – and moving through a series of classic Hollywood tributes whilst singing “The Best of Times” from stage musical “La Cage aux Folles”, the cast each dance and sing poorly whilst preparing for elaborate stunts. In the melee of pain, Preston Lacy is knocked unconscious after crashing into a camera (which can be seen directly from the camera’s perspective), Chris Pontius is hosed across the stage in nothing but his tighty-whities, Ryan Dunn breaks his shoulder being yanked out of shot by a galloping horse attached to his ankle by rope, and Johnny Knoxville recreates Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill Jr stunt in which he stands in the only spot cut from a heavy wooden house-wall structure that collapses around him.
It looks like fun, but it actually damaged a lot of the crew quite considerably, Knoxville’s eventual shunting from the centre of frame by a wrecking ball signalling the end of the film in perfect Jackass fashion.