When I write a review, I usually have a goal in mind. Sometimes I want to urge readers to check out an obscure movie which has come out of nowhere and impressed me. Sometimes the goal is to warn viewers to temper their expectations about a certain movie. However, when it comes to a movie like Jackass 3.5, there really isn't a goal. I could tell you that watching the movie causes The Ring-like death and that wouldn't stop people. Jackass 3D brought in $117 million at the box office, so there's no doubt that fans will want to see this addendum release.

As there's not much to say about Jackass 3.5, I guess I'll just describe it. Going in, I thought that this release was an extended cut of Jackass 3D, but it's not. Instead, it's additional footage which was shot for the theatrical release, but not included. (Well, that's not exactly true, some of the footage seen here can be glimpsed during the closing credits of Jackass 3D.) So, this is like an extended collection of deleted scenes, which has been combined with interviews with the Jackass team, as they discuss their experiences working (is that working?) on Jackass 3D. As the group was in Europe promoting the movie, they took time to don odd costumes and discuss the film.

The material itself is the typical mix of Jackass stunts and pranks. The question for you is, "Is this worth checking out?". If you're a Jackass fan, the obvious answer is yes. If you're like me, and find the whole Jackass thing to be a very curious phenomenon, the answer is maybe. As usual, we get a combination of "that looks cool", "that looks stupid" and "what is their problem?" The interesting stunts include "Barrel Surfing" and "Flaming Gauntlet", the latter of which makes you wonder how much these guys get paid to go through some of the pain which they endure. The stupid eye-rolling gags include "Slip n Bowl", "Treadmill" and "Enema Long Jump". (Who thought of that last one?) Some of the things in the "What is their problem?" category involve the guys trying to shoot things into one another's rectums. I don't like to pin labels on people, but if you are a man who is determined to insert an object into another man, you may have an...alternative lifestyle.

My problem with Jackass has always been that I find it to the classic example of the trainwreck which one can't turn away from, but I rarely find it funny. It appears to be an "I guess you had to be there thing", as Johnny Knoxville and the guys certainly laugh hysterically at their friends getting pranked and hurt, but I rarely find it humorous. The exception in Jackass 3.5 is the segment in which Spike Jonz puts on a fat-suit and makeup and becomes an accident-prone woman named Kathy. I'm not sure why, but watching Kathy fall off of a Segway or ask unsuspecting passers-by about her tight pants made me laugh. (I also laughed at the "Catnip" sequence, but that had more to do with the cat than with the Jackass guys.)

In the end, Jackass 3.5 is what it is. Honestly, after 2007's Jackass 2.5, I thought that these guys had gone away, but they are back and apparently more popular than ever. As implied above, I can't really recommend or condemn Jackass 3.5, but I can offer one concrete reason to watch it. If you feel the way that I do about Bam Margera, then watching Dave England kick him in the head is a treat indeed.

Jackass 3.5 made me wonder how the hobby shop felt about the use of that rocket on DVD courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The movie has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The production was shot on DV, so the image is fairly sharp and clear throughout. There is no notable grain or defects from the source material to be had here. The picture shows a crispness which rivals HD broadcast quality and the colors look very good. The image is never overly dark or bright. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. We don't get many dynamic audio effects, but stereo effects, depicting sounds coming from the left or right of the screen, sound fine and the musical cues provide some surround sound action.

The Jackass 3.5 DVD contains a selection of extras. "Jackass: The Beginning" (41 minutes) is a documentary which explores the history of the show. Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, and Spike Jonze discuss the origins of the series and what the early days were like brining in various friends and colleagues. The piece goes back to the very beginning, showing Knoxville filming a piece for a magazine which became the inspiration for the show. From there, it traces the history of the show giving us clips from the series. We get comments from the various cast member talking about their involvement in the show. Of course, this never answers the big question, "What is wrong with these people?" The DVD contains eleven DELTED SCENES which run about 16 minutes. Do we want to see Wee-Man fighting a swan? I don't know, but it was still better than Black Swan. We get an explanation as to why there was no Party Boy in this version. This is followed by a 20-minute reel of OUTTAKES. Outtakes? This whole movie is outtakes. This actually provides more behind-the-scenes footage. "Jackass European Tour" (6 minutes) tries to explain why the guys are in England for all of their interviews in the film.

Paramount Home Entertainment has also brought Jackass 3.5 to Blu-ray Disc (which, at the moment, is a Best Buy exclusive). The content is the same as the DVD, with the only difference being the transfer. The Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 32 Mbps. As with the DVD, the image here is very clear, and notably sharper than the DVD. The colors are bolder here, and, at times, the image is so crisp that we feel as if we could simply step into it. The picture is nicely detailed and we can make out textures on objects. The Disc offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average at 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Despite being a lossless track, there still isn't much to crow about here. The landings provide a bit more subwoofer here, but otherwise, this track isn't all that different from the one found on the DVD.