I consider myself fairly open-minded, especially when it comes to relating to guys. I've had more guy friends than girl friends in the course of my adulthood, and it is because we enjoy a lot of the same things: kung fu flicks, comic books, manga/anime, crazy animations like Ren & Stimpy and South Park and old Simpsons, etc.. I even enjoy watching sports like hockey and American football and I was really into "professional" wrestling back in its heyday, having gone to matches at the Fabulous Forum to see Ric Flair and the Four Horseman (we couldn't afford WWF tickets).
But here I am, and I can't quite comprehend the humor of Jackass. I remember the first time seeing clips of Johnny Knoxville and friends shooting themselves in the chest while wearing a bulletproof vest or getting hit by a car (way before they got picked up by MTV). Don't get me wrong - I think Johnny Knoxville is funny and a pretty smart and savvy guy. I also get a kick out of Steve-O and watched episodes of Wildboyz. And some of the stunts and jokes on Jackass make me laugh, but in no way does it generate in me the kind of reaction it gets from its male viewers. I am convinced there is a part of the brain, hidden in some lobe, that Jackass humor speaks specifically to the male mind. The stuff I see as just painful and a tad mean at times makes even the smartest guys I know laugh their heads off. I just don't get it.
I also put the film "Pineapple Express" in a similar category in which the humor is so far out of whack, it falls into the Jackass lobe. I enjoyed the performances of Rogen and Franco, and I laughed at a lot of the scenes, but I can't say I loved the film or thought it the funniest thing ever. (Granted, I was told otherwise by my dear friend last night who thoroughly enjoyed the movie's humor and seemed put off that I said it's a guy flick as she is a lovely lovely woman.)
It's tough to express the exactness of all this into words, because I don't want to say that I dislike Jackass or that I don't think that kind of humor is funny. There are things I do enjoy about it. (One of my favorite films is HALF BAKED and I think I enjoyed BEERFEST way more than I should and of course I love HAROLD & KUMAR.) I just don't laugh as hard as my male friends do, nor can I laugh as much when people break their bones for doing a crazy stunt. But I guess for as much as I can relate to my guy friends, it is nice to know that I am a girl at heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment