Stream or skip?
clearing time: donkey forever is on Paramount+ and its spinoff, Donkey 4.5, is on Netflix, and don’t ask why such illogicality exists, because the answer is probably pretty boring and has to do with what-you-have-business-contracts. Hopefully the most die-hard Jackasseeers subscribe to both streaming services, or at least have enough savvy enough to take advantage of a free trial. Donkey 4.5 is the traditional compilation of outtakes and behind-the-scenes content (see also: Donkey 2.5 and Donkey 3.5) that will satiate your insatiable desire for more incidents of genital mutilation and gag-and-chunder scenes, as if the regular movie didn’t have enough of them already. So the question is, does it contain some teasing gems, or does it go without saying as to why those moments didn’t make the cut the first time around?
DONKEY 4.5: STREAM OR SKIP?
The essentials: I must say right away, without spoiling anything of course, that the man known as Dark Shark – recent father donkey Initiate Jasper Dolphin – endured an incredibly grueling endeavor in which he faced his greatest fear, panicked so much he thought he was having a heart attack, AND ENDED ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR. You can’t help but hurt for the guy. Well, at least a fraction of the audience donkey forever will see the bit instead of no one, right? And to be honest, part of the prank doesn’t work because it’s made too elaborate by the mind donkey Dude Johnny Knoxville, so you see why it didn’t make the final cut. Sometimes when you’re torturing a poor soul, whether willingly or not, simplicity is king.
This moment crowns itself Donkey 4.5That’s 90 minutes of hodgepodge, some of it new and gross, some of it repetitive if you’ve seen it donkey forever (and why would you watch this if you hadn’t?). We get scenes from a donkey Cast-and-crew beach party, a re-introduction of new cast members (Poopies, Jasper, Zach, Rachel, Eric), interviews with key creatives on how and why the film was made after a decade-long hiatus, and the inevitable sequence in which it’s about how the Covid pandemic interrupted filming for six months. Of course, the final part involves a fake Covid safety meeting with all parties sitting around a large table and being overwhelmed by the sudden surprise inflation of a bouncy castle. You never know when a prank is coming, and after peing himself when the travel potty he was using explodes, special guest Eric Andre says just being on set makes you constantly nervous. Sounds like fun!
Fresh gags include the self-explanatory “HOT SAUCE ENEMA” and a variation on “CUP TEST” which sees Danger Ehren having his genitals smashed by a bowling ball. Similarly, tennis player Shannon Gibbs is firing serves at 200 mph at donkeys dressed like clowns. Producer Spike Jonze and director Jeff Tremaine offer a look at it donkey forever Opening sequence where they brag about how they brought world-class talent behind the camera to transform Chris Pontius’ penis and testicles into a rampaging Godzilla on a miniature city set. Us: Watching cinematographer Lance Bangs puke twice (final score while filming). donkey forever: six times). Laugh at “SWINGSET GAUNTLET” which is too funny not to have made it into the main movie. And marvel at the cute shots of Poopies waterskiing off a ramp with a jetpack on his back. Will this be the last word? donkey? You do not definitively answer this question.
Which movies will it remind you of?: borate residues or whatever that was called; the totally invisible anchorman Spinoff/no sequel/glorified DVD bonus feature that took deleted scenes and cobbled them together with voiceover.
Notable performance: Within two seconds, Poopies is on top of a ladder and smashes it from under him with a sledgehammer. Easy. Genius. Art.
Memorable dialogue: Rachel on joining the cast: “That was pretty much my first day meeting everyone and seeing all their cocks and assholes. After that it felt like family.”
gender and skin: What didn’t you understand about “dicks and assholes”?
Our opinion: Donkey 4.5 features possibly the most repulsive thing I’ve ever seen in a movie: Jackasseteers putting sashimi under the fat folds and in the butt of 400 pounds. Man Zach Holmes, wrapped him in cellophane, let him run laps until he was drenched in sweat, and then ate the fish. Pretty much everyone on screen pukes. I had to look away. Consider yourself warned.
This sequence in itself may be enough to suggest diverting your attention, but those leftovers from a donkey film know what they are letting themselves in for. The “normal” movies are hardly “movies,” and these intermediate collections of random crapola are even less so. I leave the alternate angles on Steve-O’s wobbling Porta Potty set of teeth, which reminds us of how he got a lot of poo in his mouth, and Knoxville’s Bad Grandpa bits. But I’ll take the little things (the guy who played The Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man as a puppeteer also played Pontius’ tail!), more Eric Andre footage, the amusingly anti-articulate comments from many parties involved, and a greater appreciation for it , like Knoxville and co. successfully exploiting the other’s phobias, gullibility, stupidity, and glaring lack of self-preservation.
Our appeal: Donkey 4.5 is of course e.g donkey only completists. STREAM IT, but remember, casual fans should know that by the time you finish reading this sentence, the best clips of it will be on YouTube.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more about his work at johnserbaatlarge.com.
