The Jerk (1979)

Desperate to make a career on the big screen in order to prolong his soaring stand-up career, Steve Martin wrote the premise for The Jerk based on one line from one of his routines - "I was born a poor black child." As so Navin B. Johnson - the dim-witted adopted son of a family of black sharecroppers - was born. Light on plot but heavy on laughs, The Jerk is a shaggy-dog tale of an idiot's pursuit of the American Dream, and his downfall once he finds it, all shaped around Martin's stage persona by the writing team of Martin, Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias.After learning from his mother that he is adopted ("You mean I'm gonna stay this colour?"), Navin sets out on the road to experience the big wide world and make it on his own. Along the way, he takes a variety of odd-jobs, from a gas station attendant to a weight- guesser at a travelling carnival, finally making his fortune with a ridiculous contraption called 'Opti-Grab' - a device that allows a pair of glasses to be removed and placed on the face with relative ease. He also falls in love with the doe-eyed Marie (Bernadette Peters), and the two share a lovely scene singing Tonight You Belong to Me on the beach before things start to fall apart as Navin becomes insufferable due his increasing wealth.Described (and criticised) as a film of 'funny hats' by Roger Ebert (as opposed to 'funny logic' - the reason for the funny hat), your enjoyment of The Jerk depends very much on your sense of humour. If sight-gags and goofiness is your thing, then there is much to love about The Jerk. Martin and director Carl Reiner clearly set out to give you a laugh a minute here, and while some jokes fall flat or come across as simply bizarre, they largely succeed. It's frequently crass but never mean-spirited (Navin innocently names his dog 'Shithead'), and it's a throwback to a less politically correct time when the white leading man could drop the 'n' word and get away with it. It's also a reminder of just how great Steve Martin used to be before he lowered himself to the family-friendly pap he is now better known for by modern audiences.

The Jerk is a fantastic movie with a very well written storyline and a brilliant comedic cast.This movie is the beginning of Steve Martins career,it was his first big comedy film,and despite the several great projects he has done since then,this is still his finest role,his character is extremely stupid yet lovable and this journey we go on with him is ridiculous in a very good way.The film is consistently funny from start to finish,there honestly isn't one scene where I didn't laugh at least twice and every time I watch this the same jokes get me every time as well as parts that I couldn't remember.Hilarious and very clever,I would definitely recommend the Jerk to anyone looking for a good comedy. After finding out he is adopted,a man with little intelligence struggles to start a new life on his own. Best Perfornance: Steve Martin

Steve Martin's first starring role brilliantly and perfectly displays his talents. Imagine a bit of Forrest Gump and sort of a prequel to Idiocracy. Martin's character has been raised by a black sharecropping family and decides to go out and see the "real world" when he reaches adulthood. Unfortunately, he is terribly naive (sort of like Norman in Drabble), which everyone else can sense and thus exploit to the absolute max. A glasses invention then turns things around and makes him filthy rich, but then things reverse.Everything about this movie is hilarious, especially with Steve Martin and his performance. It is an absolute comedy classic! I loved it and you will too. There were some great moments and lines.*** out of ****

Navin Johnson (Steve Martin) is down and out. He tells the story of his life. He grew up as a poor black boy with his black family. He's a clueless naive manic idiot who goes to the big city St. Louis. He gets a job at the gas station from Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason). It's a random series of crazy events. He invents a way to support glasses and salesman Stan Fox (Bill Macy) goes 50-50 with him. A madman (M. Emmet Walsh) is after him for no good reason. He escapes to join the carnival as Guess Your Weight. He's taken by rough stunt bike rider Patty Bernstein (Catlin Adams) but he falls for sweet Marie (Bernadette Peters). Marie runs away and he ends up in L.A. That's where he reconnects with Stan Fox and finds out he's wildly rich.It's ridiculous and it's even funny. Steve Martin is putting all his skills of performance and writing to work in his first feature starring role. It's like half of 'Dumb and Dumber'. That's really my only wish. I wish he had another comedian to play off of. It would be even better if he was a comedy duo. He's funniest when Bernadette Peters is with him. This is completely ridiculous and stupid. That's where most of the humor comes from.