The Jerk

Well i haven't really seen too many steve martin movies but after i saw this...i love him! This is the sort of comedy that can have it's dumb yet funny moments...many of them are laugh out loud! Its also a sort of movie that will have you talking about it afterwords imitating the funny scenes... Definatly if you like comedies with bizzare situations It's good! It really is! It's probably one of my favorite comedies ive ever seen! Don't watch it alone, its funner to have a buddy to laugh with you!

This was my introduction to Steve Martin, perhaps one of the greatest comic geniuses of our time (in my opinion). I remember clearly that I was home sick, with bronchitis, and that this film was probably the best medicine I took, during that month. Steve Martin plays a young White man, adopted by a black sharecropping family, who raised him to young adulthood, and, though, frustrated with the fact that he is different from his surrogate family (both, in rhythm, and in other ways), is encouraged to go out and make a life for himself. Though, this young man is labelled as slow, and, even an idiot, he goes on to become a self-made man, of sorts, finds a beautiful woman he isn't sure what to do with (played by Bernadette Peters), and even patents a prototype of glasses, that won't slip off of your nose. (I won't ruin this plot twist for you.) Steve Martin is at his best, here, with his flare for physical comedy, deadpan delivery and terrific showmanship. I reccomend this movie to anyone, trying to get acquainted with Martin's body of work, as a comedian and actor. This is a great place to start!

Surreal to the point of silliness, "The Jerk" captured the atmosphere of comedy perfectly in the 70's. Before Robin Williams broke through to a larger audience on the big and little screen, Steve Martin was THE JERK. As dense as a brick, Martin doesn't so much as act like a jerk as become one. Opening like a variation on all those Hollywood tales where the hero of our story is down on his luck but soon to be redeemed (of course, this IS a comedy so it's unlikely he'll get the redemption we expect because, well, that wouldn't be funny), Navin Johnson (Martin) mentions at the beginning that he was "born a poor black child". Adopted by a poor African-American family living in poverty, Navin is horrified to discover that not only is he adopted but he's always going to be Caucasian and have absolutely no rhythm. Navin discovers he does have rhythm after all ("praise the Lord!") when he listens to a radio playing dance music from the time. Navin eats his Twinkies, learns the difference between sh-t and Shinola and hits the road hoping to be rich. Armed with the advice his family gives him ("God bless the working man...and remember never trust whitey!"). He hitchhikes getting his first ride which takes him to the end of a fence getting about twenty feet away from home. Needless to say, life is more than an adventure for Nathan and his dog Shithead; it's a vocation. Receiving a very nice transfer, "The Jerk" looks typical of a film from the late 70's with noticeable film grain and while the colors aren't quite as vivid as I would have thought, they're acceptable. This is the first widescreen presentation for the film so that's something to be thankful for. There's quite a bit of analog debris in the form of dirt (in fact it looks as if this is exactly the same transfer as the previous edition). The 5.1 remastered Dolby Digital Surround Sound mix has nice presence but (not surprisingly) it doesn't use the format particularly well. In addition to the original production notes from the previous edition and theatrical trailer we also get 1 extra and 1 featuring footage cut from the film. "The Lost Filmstrips of Father Carlos Las Vegas De Cordova" is a "continuation" of the film within a film where we see Martin play various characters doing things like verbally abusing a plant, dressing a bulldog in a clown suit as the audience cheers and takes pets in a bizarre parody of cock fighting. It's really footage that was cut from that sequence. "Learn to Play `Tonight You Belong to Me'" includes sections where you can learn to tune a ukulele (something I've been dying to learn), play it, play along with the Ukulele Gal and, finally, play along with the jerk himself. It's bizarre to say the least. The last bit is just a scene from "The Jerk" where Navin serenades his sweetheart at the beach. No commentary track from Martin or Reiner. Honestly, you'd think they were embarrassed by this film! Or, maybe they weren't asked to do it or wanted too much money. Whil

A classic but demand a widescreen version.

Carl Reiner shines as director and Steve Martin & Bernadette Peters shine as Navin Johnson and his future bride.The film opens up somewhere down south with Navin and the family of sharecroppers who took him in. Navin begins to see how "different" he is from his family and they soon tell him he was adopted. His mother (Mabel King) proudly tells him she wouldlove him if he was "the colour of a baboon's *ss.Navin soonafter leaves home going out on the road in front of hishouse. He then begins hitchhiking when a truck comes down the road, the guy stops and says to Navin. "How far ya goin?" Navin says. "St.Louis, how far you going to which the driver says "To the enda this fence". Navin says"Ok" hops in throws his bag into the back of the truck and rides to the end of the fence.The film has similar events(you can't help but laugh) at Steve Martin's style and skill at being comedic in whatever he does.He then finds a job at a gas station owned by (Jackie Mason)who offers Navin a job as president of Texaco Oil (go figure)The film had me laughing start to finish.I had the pleasure of seeing it on the big screen when it was first released in 1979Hysterical! ***** I'd give it 6 stars if I couldenjoy!