Rating: B-
Dir: Jeff Tremaine
Star: Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius
I’m tempted just to regurgitate – an appropriate choice of word – the original review, and repeat it here. Because, let’s face it, this sequel runs along exactly the same three tracks as the original (that’d be violence, anti-social behavior and bodily functions), with the same cast of characters. And, to be honest, largely the same reaction here, alternating between us laughing like drains and looking away [examples of the latter being Pontius drinking horse semen, censored in the R-rated version, or Steve-O puking inside the fart mask]. As before, it’s the Warner Bros-style stunts that provided the most amusement, with the team strapping rockets to just about anything with wheels (or without – Knoxville himself, in one case). The results are entirely predictable…yet that inevitability, as fans of Wile E.Coyote know, is half the point.
Perhaps the most telling quote comes from Ryan Dunn after Bam Margera’s mother asked him why Bam had got a penis branded on his right buttock. “‘Cos it was funny,” replies Ryan without a moment’s hesitation. That embodies the spirit here, where nothing seems allowed to get in the way of the party. Some of the best moments are the tricks played on each other, though a skit involving one member dressed up as a terrorist and a fake taxi-driver who takes him hostage, doesn’t live up to expectations. I did feel the entertainment value dropped a little from the original, especially in a second-half which seems to run out of imagination somewhat, and as with the first, we did not actively pay to see this, waiting for it to show up on cable. However, as soon as it arrived there, we pounced on its premiere, and look forward to any third installment of Stupid Human Tricks.