Don't try this at home

When Cory McNulty, a junior biology major at Baylor University, and his father want to spend quality time together, they don't pack their gear for a father-son fishing trip or head to a sporting event. Instead, they stay in the comfort of their own home and watch re-runs of \"Jackass.\"

\"My dad and I watched 'Jackass' every Sunday night this summer,\" McNulty said. \"It was one of my favorite shows on TV, so I convinced my dad to watch it with me and he thought it was hilarious. He was like, 'These guys are idiots - just look at the name of the show.'\"

\"Jackass,\" a reality series in which cast members perform outrageous pranks and stunts, originated in October 2000 and has remained one of the highest-ranked programs on MTV. Because the episodes feature everything from one cast member setting himself on fire and heating a barbecue pit to others swallowing goldfish and vomiting them back into fishbowls, the show has garnered criticism from the media and concerned parents for the extremity of its stunts. Yet this outrageousness is exactly what McNulty - and his father - find appealing.

\"There's this one episode where Bam (a cast member on 'Jackass') says, 'My name is Bam Margera and I feel like beating my dad's ass all day today,'\" McNulty said. \"So I started saying that to my dad too, and then we fight like Bam and his dad. It's become sort of a bonding thing.\"

Those who do not welcome the show's signature humor may want to skip out on last weekend's top-grossing flick: Jackass: The Movie, which features 10 of \"Jackass'\" original cast members, including the show's star, Johnny Knoxville.

Despite the extremity of featured stunts, Knoxville said the movie has been censored from its original version to avoid an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America.

To comply with the standards for an 'R' rating, Knoxville said some scenes were shortened.

\"We didn't linger on (certain stunts) as long, but we didn't have to take out any bits,\" he said. \"We intended to make an R-rated film. We're just happy we didn't get stuck with an NC-17 which would have made it really hard to distribute. A lot less theaters would have carried it, and a lot less people would have seen it.\"

In addition to battling the ratings, Knoxville battled his share of injuries while filming the movie - among them, three trips to the emergency room, a concussion, vertigo and multiple stitches in the head. Pain, however, is something Knoxville has become familiar with from his regular antics on the \"Jackass\" television series.

\"There's a number of stunts that I've done and (said) 'OK, that's it. There's no need to do that again.' I don't wish to take pepper spray to the eyes anymore,\" he said. \"(I've had) a number of sprains, five or six concussions, some breaks, nothing too bad. I mean, I get around all right.\"

While Knoxville willingly endures various forms of pain for the sake of humor, he does have limits. In addition to avoiding \"anything to do with cold water or cold weather,\" Knoxville said he refused to perform a certain scene in the movie.

\"There's one thing in the movie that was written for me, and I turned it down,\" he said. \"Steve O. (another cast member) usually gets something when it's too naughty or nasty. So Steve O. got (this particular stunt), and then he turned it down because his father said he would disown him. Then Ryan Dunn stepped in and took one for the team. I can't give it away, but you'll never look at little toy cars or Ryan Dunn the same ever again.\"

True to the series' nature, Jackass: The Movie does not shy from the very edge of risky behavior. Despite the series' warning, which tells viewers not to attempt any of the show's stunts, several accidents have been blamed on \"Jackass.\"

A group of teenagers drove a car over one of their friends, and a 13-year-old set himself on fire and received severe burns. Both incidents were reported to be imitations of \"Jackass\" stunts. Such reports of \"Jackass\"-inspired accidents have raised eyebrows and accusations. Yet Knoxville said the finger pointing had no effect on the movie's content.

\"People's criticism of me or 'Jackass' have no effect on what we do, so I don't really care. I don't really have anything to say to them,\" he said. \"It's completely up to the parents to monitor what their kids watch and have a dialogue with their kid. Otherwise, how are they supposed to know right from wrong?\"

Knoxville said his own daughter, seven-year-old Madison (whose name is tattooed on the left side of Knoxville's chest), will not be among Jackass: The Movie's audience members.

\"(Madison) can watch certain things on the show where Daddy or somebody doesn't get hurt or something's not very naughty,\" he said. \"I don't know what in the movie she'll be able to watch. I think it'll be a few years.\"

While it may seem like 31-year-old Knoxville became a household name overnight, he initially began his career in 1996 when he had an idea to write an article about shooting himself with pepper spray, a taser and a .38 calibur stun gun. After facing rejection from several magazines, Knoxville pitched the idea to Jeff Tremaine, editor of Big Brother magazine. Tremaine hired Knoxville as a journalist and convinced him to videotape the idea, in addition to other stunts. The videos sky-rocketed Knoxville's career onto MTV, and landed him parts in Big Trouble, Coyote Ugly, Life Without Dick, and Men in Black II. Knoxville was even offered a recurring role on \"Saturday Night Live.\"

\"We were doing the pilot for 'Jackass,' and our cast and crew has already been hired,\" Knoxville said. \"'Saturday Night Live'\" came in the 11th hour and said, 'Look, we'll give you five minutes on the show every week to do what you do.'\"

Knoxville declined after learning that it would conflict with the \"Jackass\" television series. His faith in \"Jackass'\" success has earned him a faithful following of viewers.

Catrina Macdonald, a freshman general studies major, said she considers herself a regular viewer and enjoys watching Knoxville and his fellow cast members perform idiotic stunts.

\"It's stuff you and your friends would like to do, but you'd rather watch other people do,\" Macdonald said. \"I think ('Jackass') is really funny, but I'm kind of a closet fan. It's just one of those things no one likes to admit to - like being a Spice Girls or 'NSync fan. Everyone enjoys watching other people make fools of themselves.\"

Like Macdonald, Ricky Stevens, freshman business administration major, said he enjoys witnessing \"Jackass'\" bizarre stunts and has recreated the less harmful episodes.

\"I've seen ('Jackass') from the very first episode. I think (the show) inspires random acts of stupidity,\" Stevens said. \"I've tried jumping into bushes. I've even thought about getting in my laundry basket and going down the dorm stairs. Some people in my dorm will dress up in ridiculous Halloween costumes and walk around campus harassing people.\"

Stevens, who said he plans to see Jackass: The Movie, said he expects the film's gross-out factor to top the charts.

\"Sure, (the movie is) going to be a lot grosser than what they show on TV,\" Stevens said. \"It will probably make me want to throw up. I won't be taking a date.\"

Matt Slaughter, a junior computer engineering major, saw Jackass: The Movie on Saturday and said he agrees that the film would not be ideal for creating a romantic evening.

\"The movie has a lot of the same ideas and the same humor, but it's on a bigger scale,\" he said. \"Any average college guy would definitely enjoy watching it. It was very crude, but it is probably the funniest movie I've seen all year.\"

Slaughter's sentiment is exactly what Knoxville said he wants from Jackass: The Movie viewers.

\"We just started doing the videos (of stunts) because we (wanted) to make ourselves laugh. That's basically why we still do it,\" Knoxville said. \"Hopefully, we can elicit some chuckles from the audience members, too.\"