The American Misfits video is a random pile of skits, skateboarding and whatever else Jason "Wee Man" Acuna and Laban Pheidias could think to film. Sort of similar to the CKY videos, only raunchier and less funny, the American Misfits video is a disappointment. Still, the American Misfits video has more skateboarding than Jackass, and more turd eating and nudity than the CKY videos, so for someone out there this is just the video you've been searching for.
First let me tell you what I did like about this video. The main this was the huge host of guest stars and skaters. You see everybody in this - from Wee Man and Laban, to Steve-o from Jackass and Wildboys, Boddy Lee from Mad TV, El Hefe from NOFX, Gallagher (he's still alive?), skating legend Steve Caballero, and seriously more than I have room here to list. You get to see these guys skate, goof off, juggle, ride mini-bikes and get more girls to strip than you can count.
The video is mostly a random hodge podge of skits, with short skating parts thrown in here and there. The skating is very good, but usually super short. One fun part is a dream sequence where Wee Man and Laban are skating in a low ceiling room with piles of miniramps. In the middle of the session, Pat Duffy shows up looking serious in a suit. He skates with them a while, and then draws a pistol and shoots Laban and Wee Man! Very cool.
Unfortunately, most of the skits aren't as funny as other videos out there (like
CKY, Jackass, Wild Boys, Viva La Bam...). A couple of the skits are funny though, like an add for a new game, "Don't Touch My Soil!" where hicks fight with a stoic Iraqi and a crazy generic Asian over dirt. The skit is funny, with the Iraqi guarding his toy oil trucks and the Asian bragging about his nukes, while the hicks bring out real guns to win the game. One weird part that caught my eye though - it makes fun of the hicks for hating "queers and fags", but then then in the next skit they're calling Dave Carnie "gay". It doesn't make sense, but most of the American Misfits video doesn't. Sometimes that works for the video, and sometimes it doesn't.
The video randomly rips on other skaters as well, making Jamie Thomas look like a whiny prima donna who can't skate, and making Tony Trujillo look like a devil worshiper who only wants women. These parts are fairly lame, but not the worst parts of the video.
Plenty of the skits are just plain not funny. There's a re-occurring part with wannabe rappers in a laundromat, and it's just weak. There's a super long commercial for Chuckle Nuts cereal that was funny at first, but like so many Saturday Night Live skits, it just drags on too long. And the Gallagher parts - you know, smashing fruit was funny back at some point in history, but it's somehow lost a bit of it's edge...
Besides all of this, there's the pure raunchiness of the American Misfits video. It has a parental warning for a reason! Right at the start of the video there are clips of the guys playing around with some girls, all to a song who's title I can't write here. All through the American Misfits video, sleazy girls are taking of their tops. Their chests are fuzzed out, so you sort of end up with a worst of both worlds. If this sort of thing offends you at all, you'll hate the movie. If you love this sort of thing, you'll hate that the nudity is fuzzed out. It seems like the guys were trying to throw in a little Girls Gone Wild action, but then later decided to tame the video down.
But, I truly believe that for some of you guys, this video is right up your alley. It does have some funny parts, and there are a few skating sections that, although short, are good. And though smut and turd eating might not be my thing, I'm sure this movie will be somebody's favorite.
As a bonus, I downloaded this video courtesy of Total Vid, and if you visit their site from this review, your first download is half off. They offer piles of action sport theme videos for download - it's only a couple of bucks for a one week download. The video stops working after a week, but during that week you get to watch it as many times as you would like. If you buy the American Misfits DVD from Total Vid, they will give you a bonus download of it that won't expire. So, if you're interested in the American Misfits video, this would be a great way to try it out.
