Spring is here, fellow students. The snow is melting, the birds are chirping… and Steve-O is metamorphosing into a “butterfly” (and I don’t mean monarch), all in the spirit of spring. For those of you unaware of this rather visually disturbing stunt, or more importantly, those who have no idea who the hell Steve-O is, I suggest closing your heavy, over-priced textbooks for a moment to reflect with me on this cultural phenomenon currently dominating our modern society.
Let us try to uncover and understand our strange fascination with incredibly outrageous and disgusting stunts. Yes, folks, let us explore our reasons behind our love for Stephen Glover and the rest of the gang from the MTV show Jackass, as they hit town this week to shock us with their crazy antics.
My first real exposure to the insanity wasn’t that long ago. Being a struggling student, and therefore not even having cable, it was rather difficult for me to watch anything actually enjoyable (so we can just forget MTV). I was aware of Jackass’ cult status and the messed-up antics that had made it so popular (i.e. diving into a pool of elephant crap, stapling butt cheeks together), but at that point I really couldn’t see myself spending the full $15 rip-off price to see Jackass: The Movie in theatres. However, when bribed with a “movie and popcorn and candy dinner”, I gave in easily to peer pressure and went to see the movie with an open mind.
Despite my initial hesitance, within minutes of viewing this flick, I was giggling like a schoolgirl. My favourite stunts would have to be Chris Pontius as “Party Boy” (the tight and tacky undies mixed with some skillful gyrating along the busy streets of Tokyo made for some damn good entertainment), as well as Steve-O’s raw chicken-stuffed jockstrap stunt, which included tightrope walking over an alligator pit. In short, the boys of Jackass are absolutely insane-but in a good way.
And strangely enough, I’m not the only one who feels this way: Jackass: The Movie grossed over $22 million on its opening weekend in the theatres, not to mention over $96 million in home video sales. Are we just a bunch of sick puppies, or is there more to these jackasses than meets the eye?
Sticking with the latter argument, these kinds of “stupid human tricks” have been amusing people long before the Jackass crew-just think of the Three Stooges, or Funniest Home Videos. Obviously the level of fooling around pales in comparison to Steve-O’s extreme performances, but they’re based on the same premise, anyway. There will always be something inherently amusing about playing with our funny little human bodies.
So with that, I leave you to experience the shocking delights of Steve-O’s “Don’t Try This At Home Tour”, which hits Kool Haus this Friday, March 26. Get your noses out of those books for a night and give your “great minds for a great future” a good laugh.
For tickets to the Steve-O show, e-mail [email protected] with the answer to: “What does Steve-O have tattooed on his back?” by Wednesday, March 24.
