Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

For anyone else, converting a 30 second skit into a feature length movie would be borderline impossible. However as we full well know from his Jackass antics, Jonny Knoxville always takes the word impossible with a pinch of salt.

Irving Zisman is a creation of Knoxville’s and used in Jackass to generate awkward situations, typically by leaving his fake old man testicles hanging out of his shorts and falling on people. Not to say that seeing grown men run away from an old man’s privates isn’t funny, but you would think that there’s only so many times that a joke like that can be used.

This is not the case with Bad Grandpa as we see Knoxville rise to new levels with his ridiculous stunts and by the end of the film almost becomes convincing as an old man. As you’d expect we do see Irving’s manhood several times in the film, but this time he goes a step beyond by destroying property, defecating on walls and even dropping his dead wife off a bridge. Even his grandson plays a part in the mayhem but can get away with it because of his mischievous character.

A warning for those Jackass fanatics who were hoping for more of the same from Knoxville and crew, it is not what you’d expect. It is a film that flows with a real plot line and at some moments there is even the opportunity to feel compassionate towards Irving and his grandson. The film does lack some originality but it’s ultimately the public deception that draws you in to make it hilarious and definitely worth a watch.

The Moaning of Life - Karl Pilkington

Since the discovery of the incredible mind of Karl Pilkington, the so-called round-headed buffoon has been milked for all he is worth. The 3 series of An Idiot Abroad saw Karl sent on a marathon trip across the globe, forced into doing tasks that made him miserable. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant made it clear from the start; the trip was not for Karl’s indulgence but for the viewers to enjoy his misery. It is a pleasure then to see that the reigns have been unleashed and Karl is free to go again, but this time with control over his own fate in “ The Moaning Of Life”.

As we have come to expect from Karl, he has his fair share of moaning to do but despite the show’s title, we do see Karl in a different light. He has a safety net this time, and at some magical moments in the series we even get a clear sight of his pearly whites. Without the hassle of Gervais and Merchant, Karl is able to escape unattractive scenarios and often does so sporting a big fat grin on his face. Whilst pursuing what it means to be happy, he chooses to abandon a homeless man to spend the night in a 4-star hotel. Even then, we were still happy for Karl whose ill treatment in the previous series warranted him bending the rules.

For Karl (who has no plans to marry or have children with his long-term girlfriend, Suzanne) undertaking the concept of an arranged marriage proved almost too easy. Perhaps to Suzanne’s dismay he met with a woman that agreed to marry him within 2 hours of meeting. Afterwards he proclaimed, “It was good to know that if everything did go tits up, there’s someone else in the world who would put up with me.”

 Karl seemed to pride himself on his handy-work in this series, regularly using it as an excuse for his poor grades at school. In the 4^th episode his claims are put to the test as we discover that he is not quite cut out for inventing, fish selling or house cleaning. We do find out though, that Karl’s true calling, the reason he was put on this earth, is to be a catwalk model. The final episode of the series has yet to air, but if Karl doesn’t learn anything on his journey of self-discovery, then it is not a huge loss because this time round he did it his way.