Jackass 3D (2010)

By the time Jackass 3D arrived in cinemas in October 2010, the franchise had already spent the best part of a decade proving that there is, apparently, no limit to what a group of grown men will do to each other for the camera. What began as a cult MTV series in 2000 had already spawned two theatrical films and a small industry of spin-off content, building a loyal audience that knew precisely what it was turning up for. The third film, produced by MTV Films and Dickhouse Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures, leaned hard into the gimmick of the moment by shooting in 3D, a format that was enjoying a commercial resurgence at the time on the back of films like Avatar. The result was a polished but unremarkable production package wrapped around something deliberately, cheerfully unpolished at its core: a 94-minute collection of pranks, physical stunts, and bodily-fluid-related set pieces that makes no pretence of being anything other than exactly that. The tagline, "3 Times the Laughs. 3 Times the Stupid. 3 Times the Pain," is one of the more honest pieces of film marketing you are likely to encounter.

Jeff Tremaine, who has directed across the Jackass franchise from its television roots onward (including, as covered elsewhere on this site, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa and Jackass 3.5), brings the same loosely organised, handheld energy that the series has always relied on. There is no screenplay to speak of, no three-act structure, and no conventional dramatic arc. The format is essentially a variety show of escalating chaos, which places almost all of the weight on the performers themselves to generate energy and watchability. On that front, the ensemble is as committed as ever. Johnny Knoxville, the most recognisable face of the group and a performer who has appeared in conventional acting roles (among them The Ringer), leads a cast that includes Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Bam Margera, and Ryan Dunn, all of whom had been part of the Jackass world since the beginning. The late Ryan Dunn in particular brought a chaotic warmth to proceedings that is hard to miss in retrospect. What the group shares is a genuine, slightly baffling camaraderie that gives even the most grotesque segments a sense of people who are, against all odds, having a good time together. That chemistry is not nothing. It is, arguably, the load-bearing wall of the entire enterprise.

Jackass 3D is exactly what you think it is, utter, unapologetic, face-first-in-a-pile-of-manure stupidity, and somehow, it’s also brilliant in its own dumb way. It’s more of the same: pranks, stunts, and body horror played for laughs, all cranked up to eleven with ridiculous gags involving bees, slo-mo dicks, and Steve-O doing things no human should. The 3D doesn’t add much except for stuff flying at the screen (yes, including vomit), but it gives the chaos a little extra shove in the face. There’s zero plot, zero message, and zero shame, and that’s the point. The humour is juvenile, gross, and often wildly inventive in how creatively the guys find new ways to hurt themselves. You’ll groan, you’ll flinch, and then you’ll be laughing too hard to care. It’s not clever satire or deep comedy. I think it's better than the first 2 and if you like this kind of thing, it delivers. Not a classic, but damn funny.

For me, what sticks is that sense of the group being at the peak of their powers here, the stunts more inventive, the timing sharper, and the whole thing carrying a kind of reckless confidence that is difficult to fake. I have seen enough of this franchise to know when the guys are going through the motions and when they are genuinely invested, and this one feels like the latter. The 3D conceit aside, there is something almost athletic about how far they push the gags without the whole thing collapsing into self-parody. It is not for everyone, and I would not pretend otherwise, but for what it sets out to do, it does it better than you might expect. Sometimes the dumbest thing in the room is also the most fun.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 2010  | Watched: 2025-08-28

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Jackass 3D (2010) on YouTube

Where to watch

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Jeff Tremaine: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) · Jackass: Gumball Rally 3000 Special (2002) · Jackass 3.5 (2011) · Jackass 2.5 (2007)
More with Johnny Knoxville: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) · Skiptrace (2016) · The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) · The Ringer (2005)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
More documentary: Letter from Siberia (1957) · Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Style Wars (1983) · Here and Elsewhere (1976)