NOTE: Read my interview with STEVE-O!

Former-Jackass Steve-O's performances are so full of dangerous and irresponsible behavior that the name of his solo production unit is called "Don't Try This At Home," presumably to make sure that wise warning is present on every piece of material bearing his name. Usually that caveat refers to stunts like lighting himself on fire, slashing his skin or jumping from great heights - all done without the benefit of any kind of protection. In the case of Steve-O - The Early Years, however, his cautionary mantra of "don't try this at home" refers to his entire life's path.

It's easy to see how a guy like Steve-O can have a dedicated cult fan-base (his wild, dangerous stunts are accompanied by many unguarded, fearful moments of panic that let the viewer feel like they're part of the excitement) and this video is clearly made for them. But to the casual fan who's seen an episode or two of Jackass or Wildboyz it should still hold a lot of interest. That's because this is no vanity or puff piece. For all the foolishness in Steve-O's stunt gags, there seems to be very little separating Steve-O from his fans: He's just as able to sit back and laugh at himself as they are. And for that he seems much more honest than a lot of other celebrities.

Steve-O - The Early Years made me realize that the guy isn't a TV or movie star - he's a video star: A concept that might be unfamiliar to a lot of people. But one look at the lifetime of home video footage excerpted in The Early Years makes it clear that the video camera is Steve-O's medium. Even the earliest footage here (shot when he was an teenager living in London) was intended for a home-cooked skateboarder video. Early videos like "I Hate Rain" and "I Hate Pebbles" (named for some of the hazards that annoy skateboarders) were already intended to be distributed to like-minded kids. Steve-O and his young friends mug for the camera, sing foolish songs and perform somewhat modest skate tricks like hopping over a rug and spinning 180° in the air. This stuff should look familiar to anyone who had a camcorder as a kid (my own "early years" video would include acts of petty trespassing and embarrassing skits) but the difference is that Steve-O intended early on to make more than just closet-stuffers out of his footage.

As The Early Years progresses you can see the stunts changing from standard skate-punk antics to the more death-defying work for which Steve-O is now famous. At the University of Miami Steve-O develops a taste for jumping into swimming pools from balconies. He starts jumping off the lowest balcony and progresses until he's jumping off the roof of a three story building while blowing a fireball and landing in four feet of water. This is bordering on suicidal (in fact, I remember reading about a kid who died trying to imitate a similar stunt) and Steve-O is very clear that no one should imitate him. But his antics here do not give off the impression of being professional stunts. It's more like something someone would do from the haze of drunken invincibility.

But Steve-O isn't invincible. In fact, twice in the program he injures himself pretty badly: Once when he breaks his face (and tapes his injuries in gruesome detail) and once when he burns all the skin off his face while trying to impress the editors of skater magazine Big Brother (who eventually created Jackass). That he includes this sort of stuff lets you know that he's real: A Steve-O stunt includes the aftermath, good or bad, and knowing about what happens next means knowing a little more about the guy himself.

There's no question that there is an element of masochism to this early material. And, more than on Jackass, The Early Years gets into the mindset that produced Steve-O's current career. It's hard not to psychoanalyze the guy a little bit given the amount of personal discussion in The Early Years. Steve-O talks about wanting to make a mark on the world and have his stunts reach as wide an audience as possible. He does seem less motivated by money than by the thrill of the stunt and the rush of leaving an audience breathless. After all, when he started out making his tapes there was no way anybody could have predicted where it would lead. At times Steve-O seems driven to perfect his act, rehearsing complicated stunts like walking down stairs on his hands while balancing a skateboard on his feet and having his friend Ryan Simonetti jump over him endlessly until getting it right, while at other times his stunts seem fueled by booze and weed-induced craziness.

The thing that makes The Early Years fulfilling is the amount of personal material it includes. A lot of time is spent with Steve-O talking about his life and the various ups and downs as well as with his dad, who offers some interesting thoughts on his son's persona ("The world is full of low IQ people who try to look intelligent and fall on their ass, and Steve is a fairly high IQ person who does a great job of looking stupid. And that's probably why he's successful at what he does.") The interviews with Steve-O's dad and sister help fill in some of the details of his personality as do interviews with his longtime friends. (Some of the names on the package, like Tommy Lee and Johnny Knoxville, however, only really represent cameo appearances. Knoxville and Steve-O's fellow Wildboy Chris Pontius, however do offer some great comments.) But in this case it's the subject himself who gives the best sense of what he's all about. His unguarded, open personality and easygoing nature (arrived at after decades of hyperactive lunacy) give the viewer a look at the man behind the stunts.

VIDEO:
The full-frame video varies by source. The older material is understandably crappy looking, especially stuff that looks like it's been dubbed hundreds of times (and probably has). The new interviews look much better but overall the production is rough.

AUDIO:
The Dolby Digital stereo audio is fine. The interviews are clear and the music sounds good (although the heavy metal soundtrack was repetitive and at times didn't mesh with the visuals.

EXTRAS:
The disc includes a few nice extras, each introduced by a giggling Steve-O (who offers a resounding "fuck you" to anyone who doesn't like them and then cracks himself up.) The entire "I Hate Rain" video is included (minus its original songs, for obvious licensing reasons.) It's 20-plus minutes of high school-era clownishness and skateboarding antics that may not be thrilling to watch (Steve-O calls it "garbage") but it's a perfect addition to this particular release.

"All the Stunts" is a half-hour montage of every stunt excerpted in the main feature. It may feel a little repetitive to watch this right after watching The Early Years but I can definitely see Steve-O fans throwing on this sequence on its own. Some of the stunts are shown in longer versions here.

"Early Skating" is a five-minute selection of more young Steve-O skateboarding clips, including jumping over a garbage can.

There's also a segment called "Puke-O" that Steve-O describes as "nine-minutes of pure gold." If you want to watch Steve-O semi-conscious in a pile of his own vomit while his cackling friends stick a camcorder in his face (and who doesn't!) this is the feature for you.

There's also a pair of music videos by the groups Everytime I Die and Throwdown. The Steve-O related content of these videos is not known to me. I'm guessing the company that released this DVD also releases their music.

There is also a hidden message to Steve-O's hardcore fans, but I won't reveal where it can be found, since that would ruin the whole point, I guess.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Steve-O is a pretty unique personality in the world of American celebrity. He portrays an "I don't give a fuck" attitude but it's pretty clear that he actually cares about a lot of things. He wants people to like him and he wants people to get to know him. His "art" of self-mutilation and bodily harm puts him in a pretty interesting class. Much friendlier and coherent than G.G. Allin and far less polished than Jackie Chan, he manages to come off as talented and highly-trained while still being really raw and impromptu. If he manages to keep up the intensity of his performances it will be interesting to see where he goes down the road. But as long as he keeps the sense of humor he shows in his videos, it'll be a fun ride.