What Else Is In The Teaches Of Peaches?

I saw two movies this weekend: Little Miss Sunshine and Jackass Number Two. Aren’t I just one eclectic motherfucker?

Here’s how they stacked up:

Characterization
LMS: The dad is a motivational speaker who must balance his “if you don’t win you’re a loser” philosophy with his own failure, his brother Frank is a suicidal gay Proust scholar, his son has taken a vow of silence until he can join the Air Force (too bad he’s colorblind; tee-hee!), his father is a heroin-rattled, outspoken oldster who’s having trouble kicking the habit, and his daughter is an ugly girl who thinks she can win a beauty pageant. In other words, not much here.

JA2: Bam Margera is deathly afraid of snakes. Let’s lock him in a box with a bunch of snakes. Johnny Knoxville is crazy. Let’s have him get hit by a bull five or six times. Wee-man is a midget. Preston is overweight. Isn’t that funny?

Point: LMS….barely.

Music
LMS: Setting a montage of driving to Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago”? It’s been done.
JA2: Setting a montage of “Old man balls” jokes to Peaches? Now THAT’s fresh.

Point: JA2, you had me from “Fuck the pain away.”

Action
LMS: Not tons here. I guess the family did have to run to get the van started. And the dad did sort of fight the hilarious pageant host.
JA2 I may as well just mention the NON-action parts: some fo the pranks ran a little long, and…that’s about it.

Point: JA2 had more action during the credits than LMS did in two hours on the screen. JA2 again.

Climactic scene
LMS: I guess it would be the family striptease to Superfreak in front of the disgusted beauty pageant audience. That was pretty good.
JA2: Johnny Knoxville. Wearing an Evel Knievel jumpsuit. Taking off on a big fucking red fucking rocket. Jesus Christ.

Point: JA2 by a mile.


Overall
I probably laughed for about 12 minutes total during LMS, not bad for a “depressive-indie-comedy” flick; I mean, they have to spend some time on awkward silences, soulful silences, and especially quiet emotional silences, right? But JA2 had no such limitations, and as such I laughed for about 85 of its 90 minutes. My cheeks hurt and I have stomach cramps. I’m sorry, but I have to give this one to Jackass.

Can you forgive me?