Review of Action Point (2018) by Sureyoung — 02 Sep 2020

My identity as a Chinese film critic, who was born in 1981 and has spent four years in studying English in Xiamen University, has not struck me favors of R-rated comedies. At the very beginning of 21st century, a Chinese college student as westernized as me was zealous about the kaleidoscope from Hollywood, and one of those most neoteric and notorious pinballs was the R-rated comedy, which then has emerged and then shot applausively. As is well-known, Jackass is one of the most pioneering R-rated comedies as well as of the most appealing IPs. However, as a kind of derivative to Jackass, Action Point is as by-the-numbers as the tuxedo universally acknowledged on Oscar night.

One of the most delightful facets of American culture, or should we say Hollywood culture, is that, even though Coca-Cola is one of the strongest and most popular brands, it’s a kind of cheap bargain. To define R-rated comedies as equal as Coca-Cola is unfair for staff from Hollywood. That kind of comedy is not soft or foamed; it’s nauseous and brazen. I can’t remember my first encounter with an R-rated comedy, however, since the number of box-office- hotshot-R-rated comedies is double-digit, I can recall a few of them. The first impression, if you’re a R-rated-comedy-virgin, would be that you can hardly distinguish **** from jokes. A genre film has its own way to stylize or be stylized. As an invention, the R-rated comedy does not seem as drastic as the French Revolution, however, it is an overturn of rules invented by comedians that a comedy should make people laugh and think. Concerning the funny part, that kind of comedy is flashy and sleazy; concerning the serious part, funny, very funny.

It’s not clear that what kind of opinion has driven Action Point, a comedy rated R, directed by Tim Kirkby and starring Johnny Knoxville and Chris Pontius, into a dramedy. Absolutely not conscientiousness. As with Bad Grandpa, a previous film by Knoxville, who’s the synonym of Jackass, Action Point features traditional Jackass-style stunts connected by a fictional narrative. I’ve never watched Jackass, although I’ve learned that Jackass is a big franchise, with his origin as an American reality comedy television series full of perceived indecency and encouragement of dangerous behavior, best know for his stunt-style jokes and co-creator and star Johnny Knoxville. After the show went off the air, the cast reunited in 2002 to film a full-length motion picture version of the show entitled Jackass: The Movie, the success of which has bred four so-so sequels and the advent of Jackass 4 in 2021. To be honest, I do not intend to give up my disgust against Jackass simply for my critic on Action Point, which is quite ridiculous, exemplified by the fact that I did not even watch the whole film, not only because of its indifferent narration of the story but also poor stunt choreography. In a word, Action Point is too jackass to be a Jackass.

What does the story leak? Well, it’s a typical Revenge of the Nerds, starting from the recalling of Deshawn Chico “D.C.” (Johnny Knoxville) to his granddaughter narrating his experiences about his prefect amusement park-Action Point. Many years ago, D.C. was the freak owner of Action Point which was as freak as himself, famous for the immense danger due to inexperienced and untrained staff, poorly designed rides, and minimal low-quality maintenance. Somehow, the park was popular with kids as being the only amusement park around. However, a new amusement park, ‘7 Parks’, with higher safety standards than Action Point, opens up and begins to steal its clientele, the coming of which pressured D.C. a lot due to his failure to pay off a $100,000 loan. Also, his estranged teenage daughter Boogie (Eleanor Worthington Cox) comes to visit and begins to help out at the park as a summer job. To save his beloved park and his relationship with his daughter, D.C. and the Action Point staff risk everything to pull out all the stops. Boring, by-the-numbers and deflated, Action Point will disappoint you more by those perfunctory stunts which is probably the main reason the film lives. Anyway, don’t misjudge Jackass if you’re or will be into R-rated comedies. You don’t have to know anything about existentialism, the theory that humans are free and responsible for their own actions in a world without meaning. Both its birth and death would be miracles.