'Jackass 3D' For Best Picture

Good for a laugh: just in time to start the ad campaign for the film's DVD release, Paramount is positioning Jackass 3D as a serious Oscar contender. (Or, the studio is pulling for the slightly truncated title, Jackass 3.) I'd expect nothing less from the Jackass crew than to see them angling for Best Picture. (Though if they were really serious this ad would have shown up before the nominations for the PGA awards were decided.) See the full plea for attention after the break.

For what it's worth, I highlighted that quote in the header image because I actually believe it. There's an aspect to Jackass 3D that makes it more than just a fun collection of stunts and weird gross-out gags. You can see the guys actively questioning why they're still doing this stuff, and that gives it a real resonance as the film plays out to a general film culture that is continually enthralled by childish stuff. It's easy to dismiss the film as fluff (and it is often that) but whether by accident or intent, it does serve as commentary on the pervasive condition of arrested development that characterizes a big segment of my generation.