What happens if Johnny Knoxville and a couple of his weirdo buddies want to open an amusement park? Obviously, visitors should forget about safety. This is the lowest concept and a compelling plot premise, especially for those who are well acquainted with the antics of “Chucks”, and this is what “Strip Point” tells about. Knoxville and his team clearly saw the perfect idea in the history of Action Park in Vernon, N.J., closed after litigation in 1996 and added their own author's tricks, one of which was reportedly so severe that Johnny suffered a serious injury to his eyeball, almost popping out of his socket every time the "Freakies" star sneezes. Sounds intriguing? I don't think this whole madness is like an extended series of the famous Knoxville show, only with a trivial plot.
So, the writers tried to convey to the viewer three installations. First, a dummy named D.C. can lose his cool amusement park, where it is dangerous, but fun and children can be children. Second, the threat comes from a nearby rival park whose essence is corporate and whose children they don’t care. And finally, D.C. has to look after his 14-year-old daughter, who has come to see her "holiday dad" for the summer. In these three conflicts, the script gets confused, and every time the creators couldn’t find a way out of difficult situations, they had to resort to physical comedies and tricks. The trouble is that the famous and, what a sin to hide, funny antics of Knoxville and the company this time are woven into the framework of the plot, which smooths out the effect of them. Instead of doing something crazy and then lashing out at the injuries that inevitably follow (it's "Freaks"!), in "Breakaway Point," these same accidents while performing stunts are staged, strictly within the script. Carefully prepared antics this time have no real component, and the fact that they failed or Knoxville was injured, well, should be perceived funny in this comedic form, I suppose.
The whole story is a huge flashback; a story told by Knoxville made-up as his grandfather. When he begins to tell a story, he introduces a few minor characters, interesting types, which gives an idea of a good teen comedy. However, the characters of "Strip Point", except, of course, the main character and his daughter, almost faceless. No one has an unforgettable personality, except maybe Chris Pontius. And the reason lies in the charisma of the actor.
About the stunts that are probably the main reason to watch Breakaway Point, the following can be said: they lack the energy of the show with MTV and subsequent films.
The break point is attractive and reckless, but at the same time stupid and empty. A very light-hearted and light-hearted script tries to rely on nostalgia for the late 70s and theme parks, as well as films before it like Culture and Recreation Park or Hot American Summer, only without the proper charm, since the plot of "Breakaway Point" consists of staging ridiculous and comic tricks of a gang of eccentrics. Attempts to add a touching father-daughter relationship, as well as a story about the fate of the dilapidated park, well, a little embarrassing and look almost ignorant. On the other hand, it seems that Knoxville and his team were just having fun and didn’t care much about the moral side of their project. Well, it is worth paying tribute to the charisma of the ideologue of this film, energetic punk rock on the soundtrack, colorful characters and a glorious finale that brings more chaos than triumph.
5 out of 10