If you go in to Action Point hoping to see more of Johnny Knoxville’s Jackass style antics and stunts, you will probably come out disappointed. This is not really what Action Point is going for. Instead, it’s essentially a throwback to classic snobs versus slobs comedies from the 80s, stuff like Animal House, Meatballs, Club Paradise, or Caddyshack, and using that template for a story very loosely based on the New Jersey amusement park, Action Park. The slob in this case being D.C. (Johnny Knoxville), the owner of Action Point, a trashy, unsafe, and poorly maintained amusement park, which he runs with the help of his crew of misfits, or “shitbirds,” as he calls them. But he also deals with being a father to Boogie (Eleanor Worthington Cox), who is staying with him for the summer right as a competing – proper – amusement park opens nearby, which makes the group realize that they have to do something big to keep the park attendance going. Shenanigans ensue.
Admittedly, the film – which is directed by Tim Kirkby, and written by John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, doesn’t do a whole lot to change things up or reinvent the wheel. It is very formulaic. However, the addition of those Jackass style stunts do give the film a bit of its own distinct flavor, and whether that will be enough will be up to you, but for me, it more or less worked.
I won’t argue the film is great, or anywhere close to anything that the Jackass films have done, but I think it’s rock solid.
A lot of that is honestly due to the formula. I like a lot of the films that this is paying homage to, and it’s a style that rarely gets produced so much anymore. So, it’s neat to see another one of these again, and done in earnest, even if it wasn’t what I initially wanted out of this. It captures the best aspect about those films by making the environment a lot of fun, even when there isn’t anything particularly funny happening. I wasn’t laughing a lot in this film, but I was consistently amused, and I genuinely enjoyed spending time with these characters, despite being as thinly drawn as many of them were. Though, it does help having a cast that is willing to take the one note that they’re given and just run with it.
At the heart of the film, it’s very much a father-daughter story. D.C. puts so much attention to his work at Action Park, and it’s often at the expense of properly raising, or simply just being there for Boogie. If the film has a real flaw, it’s that there isn’t quite enough of this relationship to make an impact toward the end. Most of it is sidelined except for the bare minimum moments required for the arc to even exist, making the film structurally weird, and when the two come to an understanding at the end of the film, their dialogue tells a lot of things that should’ve been shown during the course of the film. I think it still manages to work, and I really bought the relationship, especially with what Cox brings to the role. It adds a surprising sweetness to the film, even if it could’ve been more than that.
Director, Tim Kirkby, keeps a good flow, moving from stunt to gross out gag to character beat in a good pace within the 85 minute runtime, as well as capturing that late 70s feel. He keeps the camera lingering whenever something outrageous happens, allowing the audience to soak in the moment for maximum impact. Knoxville continues to impress at age 47 with just how far he’s willing to go through for a solid slapstick gag, as well as his Jackass co-star, Chris Pontius, who gets a number of moments to shine.
Action Point may not have been what I wanted out of this, but I was surprised at how much fun I had with its more simple and nostalgic pleasures. There’s an anti-authoritarian, anti-corporate, punk rock edge that it captures from its influences, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in its celebration of carelessness. It features an abundance of wacky characters, bone-crunching slapstick, and juvenile tomfoolery, which won me over fairly quick. If you’re able to jive on its wavelength, you might have good time with it like I did.
Plus, it prominently features a bear that drinks beer from a can. I can’t not laugh at that.