‘Jackass: Best and Last’ Bids a Bruised Farewell to a Classic Band of Wild Boys

Alci Rengifo

Maybe every society needs a little something with the spirit of “Jackass.” When the MTV franchise first premiered as a comedic gross-out series consisting of a pack of Gen X daredevils defying convention, good taste, and testing how much their bodies could endure, it was seen as early aughts stupidity. With time, its gang of wild boys (with the exception of one female since the last movie), have attained a curious level of respect akin to the last of the carnival geeks mixed with the madness of something like Dadaism. The things these guys have done makes it almost shocking that in 2026 we are getting “Jackass: Best and Last,” which Johnny Knoxville assures us with watering eyes is definitely the final movie. 

Like all the “Jackass” films, there is no point in doing a traditional rundown of the “plot.” For newcomers, one has to explain that the point is the series of outrageous antics that can range from absurdly grandiose, like a staged Alpine play where Wee Man hangs on strings dressed like Cupid before getting zapped with a cattle prod. There is an underlying theme, common now for stars from the dawn of the century, in that the Jackass gang is now a graying bunch. They can still take a lot, as evident when Poopies has to cross a balance beam with a shock collar around his penis. Other gags are designed to emphasize how Steve-O and Chris Pontius are now at the age where they need to get colonoscopies. Steve-O gets the honor of having a robot stick its metallic finger up his rectum. 

Yet, a lot of “Best and Last” is also a look at the group’s glory days. In the spirit of friends reflecting on their wild journey, the film cuts to famous bits from the show and past movies. The opening scene is a gift for “Jackass” fans in the form of a 1998 video that helped get the show going, but which MTV refused to air. We see a younger Knoxville with friends out in a secluded place, strapping on a bulletproof vest before aiming a pistol at his chest. The moment encompasses why we haven’t been able to stop watching over the last few decades. “Jackass” is the last hurrah of a daredevil, neo-Punk culture before social media. These guys are never hurting anyone but themselves, and gleefully basking in how they get paid to invent juvenile, idiotic things to do. Poopies, touted as the most handsome of the group, agrees to let a doctor inject a botox-like substance into his lips (they remain inflated for the rest of the movie). “Jackass” was not devoid of social rebellion, even commentary. A classic moment from 2002’s first “Jackass” movie finds Knoxville and gang disrupting a golf course with a bullhorn, eventually provoking angry representatives of white privilege to threaten them with violence.

What can’t be denied is that it takes a certain amount of real courage to be a part of this crew. Steve-O’s famous “Poo Cocktail Supreme” bit from 2010’s “Jackass 3D” reminds us of that with the footage of the guy strapped inside a portable toilet swinging through the air on a bungee cord. Among the new stunts in “Best and Last” team members are strapped to electric chairs and thrown into escape rooms. An opening montage to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” captures the middle-aged troublemakers enduring various punches, smacks and cactus stings in slow motion. There is a moment where one stunt is too much even for regularly abused Ehren McGhehey, who storms off into a parking lot, ranting into the night in total outrage. Longtime cameraman Lance Bangs is still here for the last ride, at times needing to puke, which is his trademark. “Jackass” fans know there must be plenty of vomiting and other bodily ejections throughout.

The most surprising aspect of “Best and Last” is the underlying heart and even melancholy. A genuine sadness hovers over the idea that it’s the end of the road for “Jackass.” Even Knoxville, affectionately acknowledged as the captain by the crew, can’t hold back tears while sitting on an electric chair and admitting this is the final movie. Time is time and at 55, Knoxville might be wise enough to know this is the best moment to end the madness. Other original cast members have passed and constant throwbacks are presented to antics featuring the late Ryan Dunn. At its core, “Jackass” truly is about a particular kind of camaraderie, akin to people who have been in the same theater trope for decades. This gang kept alive a twisted tradition that could still be linked to the days of Buster Keaton and also Evil Knievel, while celebrating the sheer need to shock. They genuinely loved doing it and we sense it will be hard to walk away. Age can rarely tame a truly wild heart.

“Jackass: Best and Last” releases June 26 in theaters nationwide.