Reviewing a film like Jackass 3D is harder than it looks even though this is the third installment in the film franchise, which came after a TV series that lasted for three seasons. Nearly everyone can recognize the franchise by name yet the people involved aren't actually actors (everyone is listed "as himself" in the credits) and a coherent story is nonexistent. With Jackass, you know what you're getting up front; a bunch of guys doing nothing but the most stupid and idiotic things for an hour and a half that usually involve their own genitalia or feces or both. You either think it's hilarious or downright hate it and judging by the packed theater a few nights ago, there's still a craving for Jackass.

Jackass 3D utilizes the 3D effect very well. That credit can go to the film actually being shot in the format rather than it being shot conventionally and converted to 3D later on. The opening and closing of the film are the best 3D examples; all of the explosions, paintballs, dildos, and God-knows-what flying at your face. As inane as it was, it was still nice to see the effect put to good use rather than just tacked on to make an extra $3 a ticket.

The more ridiculous and senseless stunts in Jackass have always drawn more interest on my end in comparison to the more crude bits involving bodily fluids. While Jackass 3D does have the honor of not only being the only film but the only film presented in 3D that features a bungee outhouse and a man drinking the sweat of another man, it's things like Electric Avenue (which features stun guns attached to strings and a spinning cattle prod), Bam's version of the Rocky films, and the Wee Man segment in the bar that features other midgets that are the real high points of the film.

Jackass 3D is exactly what you're expecting, but there's something about it that's intriguing. Once you start watching, you can't look away. You have to see how far this imbecility will go. Never has the phrase, "like watching a train wreck in slow motion," fit so well. While the film is certainly far from brilliant, there's a bit more creativity to it than what most give it credit for. Creative, shocking, and filled with more puke than you can shake a stick at, Jackass 3D is able to utilize 3D in ways that haven't been seen before while providing a few laughs and grossing you out all at the same time.