Review: ‘Steve-O: Demise and Rise’

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“Look at that idiot” -- those words pretty much account for the phenomenon that is “Jackass,” the former MTV stunt show that has continued to live through big-screen sequels and assorted spinoffs and self-referential documents. The latest of these is the unexpectedly serious, and seriously moving, “Steve-O: Demise and Rise,” which follows cast member Stephen “Steve-O” Glover down into a maelstrom of drugs, alcohol and bad, bad craziness and back up out of it. There is more to the idiot than you might have imagined.

The chance of getting hurt was what made the daredevils of old -- the barnstormers, the barrel jumpers -- exciting. But getting hurt is where “Jackass” begins. Pain and damage are givens; survival, not skill, is the point. Among Steve-O’s stunts: stapling his scrotum to his thigh; getting branded; bobbing for jellyfish; going through a car wash (outside the car). In a different context, this might be labeled performance art, but in this one it is basically an extreme version of the unpleasant or dangerous -- or unpleasant and dangerous -- things small boys, and frat boys, dare one another to do. It is only supposed to be amazing and funny.

Most recently known -- and known for the first time by many -- as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars,” the sober-for-a-year Steve-O is a likable guy, articulate and intelligent, with a goofy laugh and a toothy smile. (“Dancing” judge Bruno Tonioli noted his “confused puppy” charm even as he gave him low grades.) Even as he goes completely off the rails, it is hard not to root for him. “He was either going to end up incarcerated, dead or famous, and we didn’t really know what,” says sister Cindy.

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(File photo courtesy AP)