Long before Steve Martin became a staple of family comedies, he was a "wild and crazy guy." Martin was a stand-up comic who appeared as a guest star on numerous television comedy shows before making his feature film debut in the 1977 comedy he scripted, "The Absent-Minded Waiter." Martin was a frequent host and guest star on Television´s "Saturday Night Live" and a regular guest on shows such as "The Smothers Brothers Show" and "The Ray Stevens Show." Martin´s second film, 1979´s "The Jerk" would find Martin with co-writer credits and a film platform that would allow him to become a bankable leading actor in comedies. "The Jerk" still stands as one of Martin´s more off-color comedies and one of the films that trademark the actor´s brand of humor.
"The Jerk" is a rags-to-riches-to-rags story where Steve Martin is unknowingly adopted son a black sharecropper. He is raised with his black brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents in a makeshift shack and Navin R. Johnson (Martin) has always felt different and at times like he didn´t belong in his loving family. He had assumed his skin would eventually darken and that he would not always be white. He never had the rhythm that the rest of his family possessed and could never quite find a beat that suited him until he heard some white music on a radio one night. The music moved him and set him off to find his own life. He would hitchhike to St. Louis and adopt a stray dog he lovingly named Shithead. While working as a gas station attendant for Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason), Navin came under fire from an angry sniper (M. Emmet Walsh) and left on another adventure.
This time, Navin would work as part of a carnivale and was the forced boyfriend of a tomboy stunt motorcyclist. He also found love in the young, naïve and lovely Marie Kimble (Bernadette Peters) and set off to romance the woman and show her his special purpose. During this time, Navin found riches with an invention he created while working at Hartounian´s gas station, the Opti-grab glasses. Without knowing much of anything about money, Navin became one of American´s fastest millionaires and spent his money on just about everything. Navin´s dimwittedness caused him marital problems with Marie and lost his riches when a flaw with Opti-grab caused users to go cross-eyed and a class action suit from Carl Reiner (the film´s director) forced Navin to pay everybody that bought an Opti-grab $1.09. Navin left his wife and mansion behind to own a Thermos and a bathrobe and live the life of a bum.
"The Jerk" is off-color comedy at its best. The film is chock full of humorous moments where Martin defends his black heritage and uses kung-fu to beat up those who insult black folk and use the dreaded N-Word. With the recent Don Imus controversy, we know the kind of trouble that can come from a white man using the N-Word or making other black references. M. Emmet Walsh portrays a sniper who picks names from a phonebook and attempts to kill them. After the D.C. Sniper killing spree, this is another situation not likely to make it into a modern Hollywood film. There are plenty of humorous sexual jokes, a servant shot to death in a firing squad and other sidesplitting moments that showcase what Steve Martin was capable of in his standup comedy and earlier films.
A decade later, Martin would star in the "Parenthood" and "Father of the Bride" films that would begin his foray into family-friendly entertainment. The versatile actor would star in a couple dramas and other fare that was not exactly the "wild and crazy" guy that Martin personified in his early career and early films such as "The Jerk." This film is a testament to the zaniness that made him a popular comedian and comedic actor in the late Seventies and early Eighties. This is not his best outing, as the plot is simplistic and some plotlines are thrown in solely for the purpose of a good laugh. The film does deliver the laughs and even though it is not the brand of humor Hollywood would greenlight today, it holds up well. A decade before "The Jerk," he was writing for "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour." A decade later, he was starring in "Parenthood." This is the definitive "Wild and Crazy Guy" comedy for Steve Martin and shows that early on, he wasn´t afraid of dirty humor and pure stupidity in front of the camera.
"The Jerk" is a rags-to-riches-to-rags story where Steve Martin is unknowingly adopted son a black sharecropper. He is raised with his black brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents in a makeshift shack and Navin R. Johnson (Martin) has always felt different and at times like he didn´t belong in his loving family. He had assumed his skin would eventually darken and that he would not always be white. He never had the rhythm that the rest of his family possessed and could never quite find a beat that suited him until he heard some white music on a radio one night. The music moved him and set him off to find his own life. He would hitchhike to St. Louis and adopt a stray dog he lovingly named Shithead. While working as a gas station attendant for Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason), Navin came under fire from an angry sniper (M. Emmet Walsh) and left on another adventure.
This time, Navin would work as part of a carnivale and was the forced boyfriend of a tomboy stunt motorcyclist. He also found love in the young, naïve and lovely Marie Kimble (Bernadette Peters) and set off to romance the woman and show her his special purpose. During this time, Navin found riches with an invention he created while working at Hartounian´s gas station, the Opti-grab glasses. Without knowing much of anything about money, Navin became one of American´s fastest millionaires and spent his money on just about everything. Navin´s dimwittedness caused him marital problems with Marie and lost his riches when a flaw with Opti-grab caused users to go cross-eyed and a class action suit from Carl Reiner (the film´s director) forced Navin to pay everybody that bought an Opti-grab $1.09. Navin left his wife and mansion behind to own a Thermos and a bathrobe and live the life of a bum.
"The Jerk" is off-color comedy at its best. The film is chock full of humorous moments where Martin defends his black heritage and uses kung-fu to beat up those who insult black folk and use the dreaded N-Word. With the recent Don Imus controversy, we know the kind of trouble that can come from a white man using the N-Word or making other black references. M. Emmet Walsh portrays a sniper who picks names from a phonebook and attempts to kill them. After the D.C. Sniper killing spree, this is another situation not likely to make it into a modern Hollywood film. There are plenty of humorous sexual jokes, a servant shot to death in a firing squad and other sidesplitting moments that showcase what Steve Martin was capable of in his standup comedy and earlier films.
A decade later, Martin would star in the "Parenthood" and "Father of the Bride" films that would begin his foray into family-friendly entertainment. The versatile actor would star in a couple dramas and other fare that was not exactly the "wild and crazy" guy that Martin personified in his early career and early films such as "The Jerk." This film is a testament to the zaniness that made him a popular comedian and comedic actor in the late Seventies and early Eighties. This is not his best outing, as the plot is simplistic and some plotlines are thrown in solely for the purpose of a good laugh. The film does deliver the laughs and even though it is not the brand of humor Hollywood would greenlight today, it holds up well. A decade before "The Jerk," he was writing for "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour." A decade later, he was starring in "Parenthood." This is the definitive "Wild and Crazy Guy" comedy for Steve Martin and shows that early on, he wasn´t afraid of dirty humor and pure stupidity in front of the camera.
Long before Steve Martin became a staple of family comedies, he was a "wild and crazy guy." Martin was a stand-up comic who appeared as a guest star on numerous television comedy shows before making his feature film debut in the 1977 comedy he scripted, "The Absent-Minded Waiter." Martin was a frequent host and guest star on Television´s "Saturday Night Live" and a regular guest on shows such as "The Smothers Brothers Show" and "The Ray Stevens Show." Martin´s second film, 1979´s "The Jerk" would find Martin with co-writer credits and a film platform that would allow him to become a bankable leading actor in comedies. "The Jerk" still stands as one of Martin´s more off-color comedies and one of the films that trademark the actor´s brand of humor.
"The Jerk" is a rags-to-riches-to-rags story where Steve Martin is unknowingly adopted son a black sharecropper. He is raised with his black brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents in a makeshift shack and Navin R. Johnson (Martin) has always felt different and at times like he didn´t belong in his loving family. He had assumed his skin would eventually darken and that he would not always be white. He never had the rhythm that the rest of his family possessed and could never quite find a beat that suited him until he heard some white music on a radio one night. The music moved him and set him off to find his own life. He would hitchhike to St. Louis and adopt a stray dog he lovingly named Shithead. While working as a gas station attendant for Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason), Navin came under fire from an angry sniper (M. Emmet Walsh) and left on another adventure.
This time, Navin would work as part of a carnivale and was the forced boyfriend of a tomboy stunt motorcyclist. He also found love in the young, naïve and lovely Marie Kimble (Bernadette Peters) and set off to romance the woman and show her his special purpose. During this time, Navin found riches with an invention he created while working at Hartounian´s gas station, the Opti-grab glasses. Without knowing much of anything about money, Navin became one of American´s fastest millionaires and spent his money on just about everything. Navin´s dimwittedness caused him marital problems with Marie and lost his riches when a flaw with Opti-grab caused users to go cross-eyed and a class action suit from Carl Reiner (the film´s director) forced Navin to pay everybody that bought an Opti-grab $1.09. Navin left his wife and mansion behind to own a Thermos and a bathrobe and live the life of a bum.
"The Jerk" is off-color comedy at its best. The film is chock full of humorous moments where Martin defends his black heritage and uses kung-fu to beat up those who insult black folk and use the dreaded N-Word. With the recent Don Imus controversy, we know the kind of trouble that can come from a white man using the N-Word or making other black references. M. Emmet Walsh portrays a sniper who picks names from a phonebook and attempts to kill them. After the D.C. Sniper killing spree, this is another situation not likely to make it into a modern Hollywood film. There are plenty of humorous sexual jokes, a servant shot to death in a firing squad and other sidesplitting moments that showcase what Steve Martin was capable of in his standup comedy and earlier films.
A decade later, Martin would star in the "Parenthood" and "Father of the Bride" films that would begin his foray into family-friendly entertainment. The versatile actor would star in a couple dramas and other fare that was not exactly the "wild and crazy" guy that Martin personified in his early career and early films such as "The Jerk." This film is a testament to the zaniness that made him a popular comedian and comedic actor in the late Seventies and early Eighties. This is not his best outing, as the plot is simplistic and some plotlines are thrown in solely for the purpose of a good laugh. The film does deliver the laughs and even though it is not the brand of humor Hollywood would greenlight today, it holds up well. A decade before "The Jerk," he was writing for "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour." A decade later, he was starring in "Parenthood." This is the definitive "Wild and Crazy Guy" comedy for Steve Martin and shows that early on, he wasn´t afraid of dirty humor and pure stupidity in front of the camera.
"The Jerk" is a rags-to-riches-to-rags story where Steve Martin is unknowingly adopted son a black sharecropper. He is raised with his black brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents in a makeshift shack and Navin R. Johnson (Martin) has always felt different and at times like he didn´t belong in his loving family. He had assumed his skin would eventually darken and that he would not always be white. He never had the rhythm that the rest of his family possessed and could never quite find a beat that suited him until he heard some white music on a radio one night. The music moved him and set him off to find his own life. He would hitchhike to St. Louis and adopt a stray dog he lovingly named Shithead. While working as a gas station attendant for Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason), Navin came under fire from an angry sniper (M. Emmet Walsh) and left on another adventure.
This time, Navin would work as part of a carnivale and was the forced boyfriend of a tomboy stunt motorcyclist. He also found love in the young, naïve and lovely Marie Kimble (Bernadette Peters) and set off to romance the woman and show her his special purpose. During this time, Navin found riches with an invention he created while working at Hartounian´s gas station, the Opti-grab glasses. Without knowing much of anything about money, Navin became one of American´s fastest millionaires and spent his money on just about everything. Navin´s dimwittedness caused him marital problems with Marie and lost his riches when a flaw with Opti-grab caused users to go cross-eyed and a class action suit from Carl Reiner (the film´s director) forced Navin to pay everybody that bought an Opti-grab $1.09. Navin left his wife and mansion behind to own a Thermos and a bathrobe and live the life of a bum.
"The Jerk" is off-color comedy at its best. The film is chock full of humorous moments where Martin defends his black heritage and uses kung-fu to beat up those who insult black folk and use the dreaded N-Word. With the recent Don Imus controversy, we know the kind of trouble that can come from a white man using the N-Word or making other black references. M. Emmet Walsh portrays a sniper who picks names from a phonebook and attempts to kill them. After the D.C. Sniper killing spree, this is another situation not likely to make it into a modern Hollywood film. There are plenty of humorous sexual jokes, a servant shot to death in a firing squad and other sidesplitting moments that showcase what Steve Martin was capable of in his standup comedy and earlier films.
A decade later, Martin would star in the "Parenthood" and "Father of the Bride" films that would begin his foray into family-friendly entertainment. The versatile actor would star in a couple dramas and other fare that was not exactly the "wild and crazy" guy that Martin personified in his early career and early films such as "The Jerk." This film is a testament to the zaniness that made him a popular comedian and comedic actor in the late Seventies and early Eighties. This is not his best outing, as the plot is simplistic and some plotlines are thrown in solely for the purpose of a good laugh. The film does deliver the laughs and even though it is not the brand of humor Hollywood would greenlight today, it holds up well. A decade before "The Jerk," he was writing for "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour." A decade later, he was starring in "Parenthood." This is the definitive "Wild and Crazy Guy" comedy for Steve Martin and shows that early on, he wasn´t afraid of dirty humor and pure stupidity in front of the camera.
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