Ask any prank movie fans, and they might tell you that the best film of the year is “Bad Trip,” which just hit Netflix and stars Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howery, and Tiffany Haddish. Following the example of other prank films like “Borat” or the “Jackass” movies, the film is basically a series of interconnected pranks that make up a narrative, but what makes “Bad Trip” different is that it actually tells a story, and a good one at that. Still, “Jackass” remains arguably the biggest of the prank movie franchises, and Eric Andre may join the next film.
During an interview with The Film Stage, Andre talked about collaborating with producer Jeff Tremaine, who co-created the “Jackass” franchise and whether he’s going to cross over to the king of stunt movies. “I don’t know what I’m allowed to say. That’s why I’m smiling and looking at Jeff,” Andre cryptically answered. “Maybe Eric’s in it. If he’s not, he’ll be in ‘Jackass 4.5,'” Tremaine responded. “We are shooting the opening sequence for the movie today.”
The film features many great pranks, from a surprise musical in a mall, to shocking drunk Atlantans by falling from scaffolding into a bar table, but there is one big prank that Andre regrets didn’t make it into the final film.
“I think the exorcism prank was probably like the best prank on its own. It just didn’t fit into the body of the movie, ” Andre said. “We had this prank where we stayed the night in a motel that was haunted. I start getting sick and become possessed by a demon spirit. Rel got this real preacher to come in and perform an exorcism on me. We have all these hidden practical effects. I’m levitating in the bed, the walls start bleeding, lights are flickering. Cockroaches came out of a painting. And this real preacher is trying to get Rel to exercise the demons out of me. Rel keeps cursing and he’s like, ‘in the name of Jesus Christ get the fuck out of my friend!’ The preacher was like ‘Okay, that’s good, but don’t curse’ and the guy was really on the hook.”
