Action Point Review
R: Crude sexual content, language, drug use, teen drinking, and brief graphic nudityParamount Pictures1 hr and 25 MinutesDir: Tim Kirkby | Writers: John Altschuler, Dave KrinskyCast: Johnny Knoxville, Chris Pontius, Dan Bakkedahl, Matt Schulze, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Johnny Pemberton, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Joshua Hoover, Conner McVicker, Eric ManakaWhenever a film barely has any marketing, you know it will be trash. But not coming from Johnny Knoxville. I expected better from Johnny Knoxville.
Crackpot owner of a low-rent, out-of-control amusement park where the rides are designed with minimum safety for maximum fun. Just as D.C.’s estranged teenage daughter Boogie comes to visit, a corporate mega-park opens nearby and jeopardizes the future of Action Point. To save his beloved theme park and his relationship with his daughter, D.C. and his loony crew of misfits risk everything to pull out all the stops – and stunts.THE GOODAll of the attributes Knoxville’s most notable for are present. His confident attitude, his rubbery body he keeps damaging with crazy stunts, and his daredevil charm. Also, the running time is short. But what does that even mean? I walked out of this movie an hour in ‘cause I couldn’t sit through this trainwreck any longer.
THE BADThe primary difference “Action Point” has over his previous features is that he’s strung together a narrative that has theatrical value. Compared to Dickhouse movies like the “Jackass” trilogy and “Bad Grandpa”, this is the most cinematic feature his team produced. That said, by attaching an actual narrative, you’re decreasing the value and the special uniqueness of your brand. Jackass was great because there was no narrative and relied on nothing but the stunts… stunts that were too raunchy for television that you never got to see.
“Bad Grandpa” was their previous feature which was the first to feature a narrative in the midst of all these stunts and pranks. The primary reason why “Bad Grandpa” worked was due to the fact that the humor came from the reaction of real people who witnessed all of the shenanigans courtesy of Knoxville (completely unrecognizable) and Jackson Nicoll who was along for the ride. The footage captured by the real people was where the humor rooted from, along with the insane shit Knoxville & Nicoll would do. Nobody was aware of the Pageant scene or the Male Strip Club scene in “Bad Grandpa”, so the reactions by the people in the film gave the humor a natural feeling. People love shit like that. Why do you think ABC’s “What Would You Do?” is so successful?Now, by making a movie revolving around your stunts and attaching a generic ‘save the rec center’ narrative to it, you’re just being like everyone else. “Action Point” just follows the same blandness as every R-rated raunchy comedy. Minus the craft and cleverness of all their previous features stunt-wise, you feel cheated by watching this because this team's first ever fully narrative feature spectacularly fails due to the lack of substance in the script. Each narrative beat throughout the story feels as if it was following a checklist of requirements a R-rated feature had to offer. Sex joke here, add uncomfortable joke about teenage girl using a tampon here, absurd sex scene hijinks here, and a lot of physical gags. What’s more embarrassing than a comedy that isn’t funny is a comedy that takes pauses in assumption that you will laugh... because that happens here... a lot.
With what much smarter R-rated comedies this year had to offer so far, most specifically “Blockers”, this is the level of garbage that I actually expected from that movie. Shit I saw “Life of the Party” nearly three weeks ago and, while that was atrocious, I found myself laughing 8 times overall because there are talent in the film who are authentically funny. Here, all of the humor is empty and hollow mainly due to the fact that there is no sense of comedic timing. The majority of the cast aren’t comedians or have enough comedic chops to keep the film afloat, including Knoxville who seems to be going through the motions. Over an hour I had no ounce of joy in my system for I didn’t laugh, smile, or crack a chuckle. Because of this, I walked out ‘cause what I saw on screen was just an unfunny comedy that managed to make absolutely no one laugh.I think one of the reasons why none of the stunts hit your funny bone has to do with Knoxville’s age where he’s not as able to be as agile and swift enough to perform the insane stunts that he used to nearly 20 years ago. Granted, he is performing stunts in this movie but none of them are as memorable as any of his Jackass stunts from the past. It’s as if each injury he had in the film was more obligatory than inspired. All of the stunts featured are just people falling off of things and on the ground, into a lake, and getting hit by various objects on a loop. Nothing is as extravagant as any of the previous features and it’s unfortunately tame. There’s no authenticity to this movie for it’s just a movie. So what? The stunts are real. Tom Cruise does his own stunts but they keep becoming more extravagant, which is the reason why we see his movies. Go back to what you do best, going bigger with your pranks than going home.LAST STATEMENT“Action Point” finds Knoxville at his worst with an unfunny comedy with lack of soul, story, and stunts which prove pranks can’t make a movie without craft and authenticity.Rating: 0.5/5 | 13%uper Scene: D.C. vs. Bear
