Review of Jackass: Number Two

Admit it, you're curious about the new Jackass sequel, crudely (and accurately) titled Jackass: Number Two. And why not? A group of (mostly) buff skater guys running amok in various states of undress while engaging in gleefully homoerotic (and sadomasochistic) behavior is bound to raise a few queer eyebrows.

Jackass: Number Two is a 95-minute torture session for stars Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, Ehren McGhehey, Preston Lacy, and Jason Acuña (aka “Wee Man”). In it, each tests the limits of pain and good taste in their pursuit of the ultimate prank or stunt. Gay viewers might be amused, horrified, shocked or disgusted, but they will definitely be entertained.

And maybe even turned on.

Jackass began as an MTV program in 2000, and by 2002, New York Magazine had published an article about the popularity of the show (and subsequent film) with gay male viewers who were tantalized by the battered torsos of the daredevil clowns.

The good news is that Johnny Knoxville, the ringleader of the group--or biggest jackass, if you will--would be tickled, well, pink.

Knoxville has forged a Hollywood career from the Jackass franchise and his name has become synonymous with images of guys fondling one another's nether regions in pursuit of the perfect prank. It would be ridiculous for him to deny the obvious queerness of Jackass, and he doesn't.

In 2004, Knoxville told The Montreal Mirror, “Yeah, Jackass was real gay… I guess I have become a gay icon. I wore rainbow flags on my helmet in the [first] Jackass movie. How do you get away from it? Ten guys, mostly naked, touching each other, things going in and out of holes. How do you run away from it? You don't! You champion it!”

He's done just that by shamelessly flirting with the gay press. Knoxville has proudly played pin-up boy on the cover of three different national gay publications (The Advocate, Genre, Out). When asked by The Advocate in 2004 about his gay-friendly attitude, Knoxville brushed it aside as no big deal, adding “If someone thought I was gay, I'd consider that a compliment.”