Review of The Jerk (1979) by Sherry L — 01 Aug 2011
One of the earliest movies you can find with Steve Martin. Like the movie title assumes, he is playing a rather "backward" character.
This sort of comedy with "backward" main characters is way more usual today than it was back then.
Not really my type of humour. But all respect to Steve Martin, who as a comedian, have survived through so many decades. Even though he's starred in a few flops these last years (the pink panther-movies for example), he's still Steve Martin, god damn it!
*On his birthday, Navin R. Johnson's black parents drops the bomb; he is not their biological son!
To explore the world and find out who he really is. Despite his not so logical thinking he still makes his way to success, and also find himself a sweetheart (played by Bernadette Peters, whose voice you'll never forget:). Navin invents a new model for glasses, with a metallic holder in the middle, which makes him a millionaire. But not even millionaire "jerks" are free from problems, of course.*.
There were lots of comedians who are still going strong today, who broke through in the late 1970s with SNL an' all, like Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase for example. The 1970s will always be missed for that time when great comedians were popping up everywhere (and some of the greatest musicians were in their absolute best shape).
Some of you who read this review will love this movie, and some of you will hate it.
This review of The Jerk (1979) was written by Sherry L on 01 Aug 2011.
The Jerk has generally received positive reviews.
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