NOTE: Read my interview with Wildboyz's STEVE-O!
In a TV era punctuated with Queer As
Folk, Queer Eye For The Straight Guy and The L
Word, the most casually gay show may be MTV's
Wildboyz, the
innovative (and insane) follow-up to stunt-orgy Jackass. Following the line of
Jackass
that reveled in self-deprecation and humiliation as well as the love that one man can
share with
another (and leaving the bully-humor side of Jackass for the far less
interesting Viva La
Bam) Wildboyz absolutely soaks itself in surreal moments and
weirdness.
The show could simply have been a continuation of Jackass and it would have been
great: It stars
two of the funniest, most compelling members of the Jackass team, Chris Pontius, who
played "Party
Boy" and the devil, and Steve-O, the thong-wearing sideshow performer. But
Wildboyz (presented on DVD with all the profanity intact) truly takes
stunt TV where it's never gone before: It drops the follies of these two wackos in a
nature show
setting. With Steve-O and Chris Pontius (along with occasional sidekicks Johnny
Knoxville and hilariously weird animal expert Manny Puig) traveling the globe looking
for adventures
with wildlife and
indigenous peoples, there's no way the show was going to seem derivative.
Even though the first season is just eight episodes long a lot seems to happen. In
South Africa the
boys swim with sharks without any protection. In Australia they stick their hands in
the mouths of
giant clams. In Florida they swim with alligators. And in Belize Chris tries to handle
a boa
constrictor blindfolded, resulting in a nasty bite.
There are plenty of dangerous moments but there are plenty of "sensual" moments as
well that really push the boundaries of what you can expect to find on TV. I lost count
of how many animals Steve-O and Chris come on to or make out with but the image of
Steve tongue kissing a giraffe won't leave me any time soon. They also make out with
birds and mammals alike.
It's TV absurdity in the real world. As a deliriously tired Steve-O says in an
outtake, "It's not about just being on safari. It's about being on safari and getting
totally RAD!" There are often quite a few things happening simultaneously: There's how
Steve-O and Chris treat
themselves, how they treat each other, how they treat the animals, and how they treat
the locals. Each
of these weird little relationships adds another strange level of depth to the show.
When it comes to
their treatment of themselves, the fellas are fearless. This show definitely jumps into
the debate over
where bravery ends and stupidity begins with both feet. Often putting themselves in
extreme danger they
come off like little kids who never grew up and subsequently never realized that you
can hurt yourself
doing dumb stunts. Their extreme body-stunts look really painful at times, and very
unappetizing at
others, but their willingness to put themselves out there makes the show compelling.
Time was that
Divine eating dog crap in Pink
Flamingos was too shocking for words. I'm happy to report that putting doo-doo
in your mouth is
just as disgusting today as it was then but Steve-O and Chris Pontius do it with glee
at least twice.
This is subversive and bizarre behavior that really pushes the limits of what many
viewers will be able
to take. Between the endless male nudity and the scatological jokes, the penis-obsessed
stars invent their own TV format.
The way they treat each other is one of the most unique things about the show. You can
tell they have
genuine affection for each other and, even though they aren't "together," theirs is
probably the best
unconventional love affair on TV since Mulder and Scully were still just making googly
eyes at each
other over disemboweled corpses. Steve-O and Chris spend the majority of the show naked
or very close to
it, often in full contact. Jackass and Wildboyz really challenge what a
frat-boy audience
is able to put up with. These antics are definitely bold (or "ticklish," as Steve-O
might describe it)
and Wildboyz ups the homoeroticism of Jackass to ridiculous levels, but
the camaraderie on
the show makes it that much more interesting. This is probably the number one factor
that helps the
show stand out from the other reality shows on MTV. No other stars are willing to put
themselves out
there the way Steve-O and Chris do. It's absolutely insane but it pays off big in
making the show
feel not just funny but honest.
The way they treat the animals is similarly interesting. First off, Wildboyz is
the exact
opposite of the kind of cruel sadism on display in Viva La Bam or DVDs like
Bumfights. If
anything, it's about having complete respect for the animals. They may not understand
anything about the animals themselves (and their super-serious, yet wholly inaccurate,
descriptions of the animals are truly funny) but they do understand that wild animals
operate on their own set of rules. Whether it's feeding a pelican a banana shoved in
Steve-O's ass or trying to playing catch with a hunk of meat in the middle of a pack of
hyenas, the Wildboyz give their subjects their own brand of respect. Another
side-effect of the fearlessness and openness of the crew here is that they do get some
truly fantastic footage. There are great shots of beautiful wild animals as well as
plenty of excellent underwater photography.
The way the show treats the indigenous people they visit is similarly smart. I remember
articles
criticizing Wildboyz as being condescending but that couldn't be more wrong. If
anything, the
show is the least condescending portrait of indigenous peoples mainstream TV has seen
in a long time.
The wildboyz treat each person they meet as if they've been friends for life. There's
no
talking-loud-and-slow condescension here. They talk to everyone they meet, from Zulu
warriors to
Central American guides to Eskimos as if they were already in on the joke and are
always ready to share
a hearty laugh. They also break the ice by humiliating themselves over and over. After
all, regardless
of whether you speak the same language, people all over the world can appreciate a good
mooning.
Even though each episode of Wildboyz is only about 22 minutes without
commercials it feels like
a lot happens. Not every segment is a classic (there are a number where the guys just
goof on an animal's name and then look at each other like "what the hell is going on?")
but the show doesn't dwell on slow spots. There are so many animals and people to meet
that the pace is mostly pretty brisk. There is real enthusiasm both among the cast
members and the way the show is made. The mix of "science" and clownishness is perhaps
best summed up in what might be the show's finest moment: Faced with a bank covered
with Alaskan salmon that died before they were able reproduce, the Wildboyz do the only
thing they can to help out. Chris squeezes a stream of eggs out of a dead female into
Steve-O's mouth followed by a load of salmon sperm. You read that right:
Wildboyz features a man mixing salmon eggs and sperm in his own mouth. If that's
not just about the most insane thing to ever pass over my TV screen then I just don't
know what is. Divine would be proud.
VIDEO:
The video is widescreen but it's not anamorphic. This reflects the way it was broadcast
but it's a
shame that when the show was originally assembled it wasn't done so with an anamorphic
release in
mind. It mostly
looks good, with bright, vibrant colors, although I did notice instances of dense
detail (particularly
in the jungle) where the image displayed compression artifacts. The compression may be
distracting in
these moments but overall the video looks pretty nice.
AUDIO:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio is good, although I felt the opening credit music sounded
harsher than it
did when the show was broadcast. I'm not sure why, but here it sounded tinny and
trebly. The voice
recordings for the episodes sound good considering the far-flung locations and the
fast-paced style of
shooting.
EXTRAS:
The first disc, which contains all eight episodes, also includes commentary for the
entire season. The
commentary features Steve-O, Chris Pontius, co-creator/director Jeff Tremaine, and
cinematographer
Dimitry Elyashkevich. The commentary starts off a little rocky (the boys are obviously
stoned and
mostly giggle and grunt) but eventually they get into it, spilling dirty details about
the
behind-the-scenes goings-on and commenting on the particularly "ticklish" aspects of
the show (any time
Steve and Chris are rubbing up on each other or holding hands skipping down the beach
the participants
erupt.) It ends up being an entertaining set of tracks, made even more tantalizing by
the numerous times
they stop themselves from telling a particularly juicy story since it's more
appropriate for the second
season. Hopefully MTV will do the right thing and release that as well.
The second disc in this two-disc set contains the bulk of the extras. The most
important is a selection
of footage new to viewers of the broadcast version of the show. Sequences of "outtakes"
and "additional
scenes" from each episode are available. Some sequences are only a couple of minutes
but some are quite
meaty. Some scenes, like a night Steve-O and Chris spent in a Soweto family's house
during the South
Africa shoot are invaluable. You can see why this lengthy scene didn't make the cut for
the original
episode, but it's a perfect example of why the show doesn't condescend to the people it
meets. In fact, the show's weird brand of respect is evident
when the woman offers a special dinner of sheep stomachs for birthday-boy Steve-O. It's
hilarious to
consider that Steve-O refuses the meal, not because he thinks it's disgusting but
because he knows
full-well that he'll vomit if he tries and THAT would be rude!
A "Making of Wildboyz" special (22 minutes) also gives some excellent insight
into the folks
that make the show, including a little more about daredevil cameraman Mark Rackley. In
typical
Wildboyz fashion Chris starts of the special by saying "Everyone wants to know
how our magic happens. But we're not telling!" And then he does just that.
There are some less visually exciting extras that are still fun, like a list of animals
that have
bitten the boyz and a Wildboyz encyclopedia. There are also trailers for other MTV DVD
releases and a couple of music videos from Turbonegro, who perform the theme song. I
also found one Easter egg of a collection of clips of the Black Mamba sock puppet
slapping various sleeping crew members.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
In a way, Wildboyz is a work of genius. It mixes TV genres in ways that make no
sense. But in
acting like fools around animals they almost "get" the animals better than an army of
deep-toned nature
hosts. The show doesn't necessarily need to be part of a permanent collection but it
does need to be seen to be believed. If MTV had included both seasons in this package
it would have really been a great set. And since a third season doesn't seem to be
coming in the immediate future (although it doesn't seem to be cancelled either) this
totally rad two disc set is at least worth a rent.
NOTE: Read my interview with Wildboyz's STEVE-O!
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