I've lost at least half the audience by the title alone, so I'll cut to the chase.
Growing up in the 90s, stunt culture was huge — and Jackass ruled it.
Now in my 40s, as much as I've matured (or at least hope I have), when a friend invited me to see Jackass: Best and Last in theatres, I said what the heck and bought a ticket.
I felt uncomfortable the whole time. I kept thinking how I was "too old" for this. And I walked out of the theatre smiling ear to ear, ribs sore from laughter, thinking: what the heck... is this self-care?
I can't say you'll agree. But here are 4 things Jackass: Best and Last can tean you about self-care.
It's become something of a tagline for the whole self-care movement, but the sentiment still holds up: what fills your tank might drain someone else's completely.
Bubble baths and candles work wonders for some people. For others, it's just wet, dirty water with a candle.
For me? Watching a group of grown men in their fifties get run over by a bull — again, on purpose, after twenty-five years of doing this to themselves — was genuinely restorative.
I'm not entirely sure what that says about me, and I've decided not to look too closely. And that's kind of the whole point.
Self-care isn't a checklist you borrow from somebody else's life. It's whatever actually puts something back in your tank, even if it looks ridiculous from the outside.
If yours leans more traditional, this list of 20 low-cost self-care ideas might be more your speed. And if you want a research-backed take on why self-care looks different for everyone, the APA has a good breakdown of it.
I won't lie — I love planning self-care days. A hike, a new event, a date night with myself.
I genuinely enjoy the planning part.
But sometimes, the best self-care doesn't need planning at all.
At one point of the movie, my friend leaned over to me before the movie started and said, "I always like to get to movies early when I go with friends, so we can hang out and catch up a little before we sit and stare at a screen for two hours."
We ended up talking for twenty minutes before the trailers even ran. It felt really nice.
It wasn't optimized, just happened because we showed up a little early.
That's basically mindfulness in action, no app required. It's the same idea behind turning something as ordinary as a walk into a self-care practice.
I won't lie, I almost had a tear in my eye. In a Jackass movie. I know how that sounds.
Several times, Johnny Knoxville — the Jackass ringleader — said this was the last movie the Jackass crew would ever do.
Every single time, he was brought to tears, and every single time, I almost was too.
This movie wasn't just dumbass stunts and gross-out challenges (though there's plenty of both). It's a group of guys who grew up together, on camera, in front of millions of people.
Good years and bad ones. Friends made. Friends lost along the way.
Watching people who genuinely love each other say goodbye to something that shaped their entire lives is not nothing.
There's actually a name for the warm feeling you get from someone else's joy, and psychologists have studied why it matters. It's also a good reminder to check in on your own tank before it hits empty, especially if you're a front-line worker.
Language I've tried to adopt over the years is "exploring mental wellness."
When you're exploring something, you're coming at it from a new angle. You're approaching with curiosity instead of certainty.
When you think of Jackass: Best and Last, "self-care" is probably not the first phrase that comes to mind. Honestly, I could argue the opposite.
Because self-care isn't always what you think it is.
If you ate the same meal every single day, you'd get bored fast. The same goes for how you rest and recharge. There's something to be said for stepping outside your comfort zone. (And if you're planning to see this movie, you're going to get out of your comfort zone, guaranteed.)
Even something like reframing a busy week, say 10 days of Stampede, as a self-care experiment counts.
God speed, you Jackasses.
If you're looking for more reflections, tools, and lived-experience experiments, you can subscribe to the email list at thejeffturner.ca.
If you're looking to take a bigger step in managing overthinking, check out the FREE Front-Line Worker's Guide to Managing Overthinking.
Remember to take care of yourself, however that looks to you.