AllMovie

A spin-off of the sleazily satirical stunt series Jackass, Viva La Bam was built around the talents of the earlier series' supporting player Bam Margera, as himself. Unlike its predecessor, Viva La Bam was less concerned with the dangerous and harmful stunts performed by the host than it was with the humiliations heaped upon Bam Margera's real life mother and father, Phil and April Margera. Forever coming up with "helpful" ideas around the house, Bam and his coconspirators made Phil and April's lives miserable. After all, how would you deal with a son who turned your house into a skating park, or who stole household items to stage a scavenger hunt, or who forced you to go without food for 24 hours, or who staged a "Fat Boy Face-Off" with you as one of the contestants? Kids...can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em. Also featured were the star's uncle Vincent Margera (aka "Don Vito") and his real-life cronies Ryan Dunn, Brandon DiCamillo, Chris Raab, and Rake Yohn. Viva La Bam may have looked spontaneous and ad libbed, but each episode was painstakingly scripted and rehearsed, with the long-suffering members of the Margera family (who didn't look as though they were really having that awful of a time) well compensated for their efforts. The series made its MTV bow on October 26, 2003.