FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Johnny Knoxville and the gang are back on the big screen with a whole new batch of wild and crazy stunts and pain-inducing shenanigans. The storyline is the exact same this time around, which means there is none. Instead, just like the television show from whence it came, the audience is treated to a long series of vignettes taking you from one outrageous prank or stunt to the next. It starts off with a suburban running of the bulls and ultimately culminates in an extremely uncharacteristic song and dance routine at the end. No, seriously.

Despite the comparably lame and boring ending, this is still probably going to be one of the funniest movies of the year. I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about watching these boneheads try to hurt each other and themselves that’s superbly fascinating and hilarious. Call it the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” factor. Except these guys don’t have Bob Saget providing voice over. Their natural reactions to getting a leech placed on their eyeball or having their limo is filled with bees is enough. Sometimes one of the cast or crew will interject with something witty at just the right time (usually Chris Pontias).

So, what is it about this stuff that’s funny? What makes it work? Well, it varies from sketch to sketch, but the filmmakers seem to know exactly how much to show and when. If it’s funnier without any set-up, they’ll do that. If it’s funnier to tell you what’s about to happen and watch the unaware cast fall into the trap, they’ll do that. Either way, the element of surprise is a major factor. Even if you know what’s going to happen, you don’t know how exactly it will go down. The only guarantee is that it’s going to end badly for someone involved. Also, part of what makes it funny is in knowing that you’re safe. You watch these guys swim with sharks with a hook in their mouth or catch pythons in a kids ball pit and you can still feel the tension, but at a distance. There’s laughter stemming from the fact that they will be okay in the end. There’s laughter knowing that these guys are dumb enough to put themselves in these dangerous situations to begin with. There’s laughter, because it’s funny. It’s best not to question it.

This second film probably is a little more disgusting than the last one. They even had to censor part of it within the film, because it was too filthy to show. They also seem to have switched focus from alligators to bulls and snakes. Maybe they just got a guy to provide them and just thought of as many crazy things as they possibly could and filmed them all. It doesn’t matter, it’s still entertaining. I wish they would have done more when they went to India. Also, when they messed around with the general public, it was a little too much of the same stunt over and over. Still, the second installment (of what will most likely be a series until one of them dies during filming) is almost as good as the first one. If you’re even a casual fan, get some people together and go see it in the theater. The crowd reactions make it that much better.

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