How intelligence deprived Steve-O (also known as Stephen Glover) and his posse of similarly handicapped hooligans haven´t killed themselves or ended up in traction for prolonged periods of time is beyond me. I mean, if they aren´t setting their hair on fire or stapling a scrotom to a thigh, producer/director Nick Dunlap is getting drunk in an outdoor bar and trashing the place. Or they´re defecating outside a hotel room door, allowing one of their own to walk through the mess. Or Steve-O is puking up…well, the less you know, the better.
After sitting through this third volume of "crap" (hey, that´s what they call it on the back of the DVD), I can´t for the life of me figure out why anyone would voluntarily take part in these stunts, let alone revel in their depravity. I mean, there´s no point to anything in the entire 92 minutes except to see how profane, obscene, maliciously destructive, immature, sophomoric and asinine a group of grown men can be. The late, great performer Evel Knievel is Shakespeare compared to the stunts Steve-O pulls.
The problem is they aren´t funny to watch. Throwing a hotel room phone out the window, breaking a beer can on his head, getting into a fight with a supposed friend…these are sadistic actions catering to the lowest common denominator in society. I hesitate to use the term "trailer trash" because: (1) it´s offensive to people who might live in a trailer; and (2) Steve-O isn´t even good enough for Cletus and Brandeen from "The Simpsons." All I kept asking myself was why.
Why are arenas and venues packed for each show around the world? Why do women lift their shirts, exposing their breasts, for these guys (none of which are attractive)? Why in the world do parents bring their school age children to a show and then sit in utter disbelief about the antics without doing a thing? And, for god sakes, how many times do we need to see Steve-O playing with his feces?
Maybe I´m going about this all wrong. Maybe the idea isn´t to hold Steve-O to everyone else´s standard, but to create a new standard FOR him. Just how filthy and vile can the stunts get while retaining some kind of audience? Clearly, from what we have here, audiences clamor for all the raunch they can get.
I guess the above question can be distilled down to one central premise: is Steve-O any more offensive in his day than Richard Pryor was in his? Or George Carlin? That is to say, can Mr. Glover get away with the things he does because of the times in which he lives? In our modern age of video on demand and YouTube, can´t an argument be made Steve-O and "Jackass" are simple extensions of technology? As in, we´ve entered a time in our culture when things are done not because they are good ideas, but because we can?
It is, alas, one of the downfalls to having a free media and the first amendment. A citizen can be offended all they want by an action or word, but until a second person is physically harmed, nothing can be done. And "Out on Bail Volume III" makes sure no bystander is hurt in the antics. In that respect, then, Steve-O is commendable. Not to mention he´s not the one destroying other people´s property for no reason. Those ignominious acts are committed by his cohorts. Really, Steve-O doesn´t hurt other people, only himself.
Let me be clear: that doesn´t excuse him from not chastising Ryan Dunn, Dunlap and the others. As the ringleader, so to speak, he has the responsibility on his shoulders for everything happening in his name. If these dopes want to hurt themselves and throw urine on one another, feel free. No one, outside those involved, gets hurt. But when property is destroyed for no good reason without any sense of remorse, people do get hurt. And that´s the sad part. Consequences never cross anyone´s mind while engaging in tomfoolery.
How intelligence deprived Steve-O (also known as Stephen Glover) and his posse of similarly handicapped hooligans haven´t killed themselves or ended up in traction for prolonged periods of time is beyond me. I mean, if they aren´t setting their hair on fire or stapling a scrotom to a thigh, producer/director Nick Dunlap is getting drunk in an outdoor bar and trashing the place. Or they´re defecating outside a hotel room door, allowing one of their own to walk through the mess. Or Steve-O is puking up…well, the less you know, the better.
After sitting through this third volume of "crap" (hey, that´s what they call it on the back of the DVD), I can´t for the life of me figure out why anyone would voluntarily take part in these stunts, let alone revel in their depravity. I mean, there´s no point to anything in the entire 92 minutes except to see how profane, obscene, maliciously destructive, immature, sophomoric and asinine a group of grown men can be. The late, great performer Evel Knievel is Shakespeare compared to the stunts Steve-O pulls.
The problem is they aren´t funny to watch. Throwing a hotel room phone out the window, breaking a beer can on his head, getting into a fight with a supposed friend…these are sadistic actions catering to the lowest common denominator in society. I hesitate to use the term "trailer trash" because: (1) it´s offensive to people who might live in a trailer; and (2) Steve-O isn´t even good enough for Cletus and Brandeen from "The Simpsons." All I kept asking myself was why.
Why are arenas and venues packed for each show around the world? Why do women lift their shirts, exposing their breasts, for these guys (none of which are attractive)? Why in the world do parents bring their school age children to a show and then sit in utter disbelief about the antics without doing a thing? And, for god sakes, how many times do we need to see Steve-O playing with his feces?
Maybe I´m going about this all wrong. Maybe the idea isn´t to hold Steve-O to everyone else´s standard, but to create a new standard FOR him. Just how filthy and vile can the stunts get while retaining some kind of audience? Clearly, from what we have here, audiences clamor for all the raunch they can get.
I guess the above question can be distilled down to one central premise: is Steve-O any more offensive in his day than Richard Pryor was in his? Or George Carlin? That is to say, can Mr. Glover get away with the things he does because of the times in which he lives? In our modern age of video on demand and YouTube, can´t an argument be made Steve-O and "Jackass" are simple extensions of technology? As in, we´ve entered a time in our culture when things are done not because they are good ideas, but because we can?
It is, alas, one of the downfalls to having a free media and the first amendment. A citizen can be offended all they want by an action or word, but until a second person is physically harmed, nothing can be done. And "Out on Bail Volume III" makes sure no bystander is hurt in the antics. In that respect, then, Steve-O is commendable. Not to mention he´s not the one destroying other people´s property for no reason. Those ignominious acts are committed by his cohorts. Really, Steve-O doesn´t hurt other people, only himself.
Let me be clear: that doesn´t excuse him from not chastising Ryan Dunn, Dunlap and the others. As the ringleader, so to speak, he has the responsibility on his shoulders for everything happening in his name. If these dopes want to hurt themselves and throw urine on one another, feel free. No one, outside those involved, gets hurt. But when property is destroyed for no good reason without any sense of remorse, people do get hurt. And that´s the sad part. Consequences never cross anyone´s mind while engaging in tomfoolery.
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