The Jerk (1979)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Alexander D

  
  The story delivered in THE JERK is nothing short of absolutely ridiculous. Itâ(TM)s like a mockery of a mockery of a poor manâ(TM)s FORREST GUMP. A man sits down on a bench (or in this case, in the middle of nowhere) with a story in mind. It doesnâ(TM)t matter if he has an actual… More
  The story delivered in THE JERK is nothing short of absolutely ridiculous. Itâ(TM)s like a mockery of a mockery of a poor manâ(TM)s FORREST GUMP. A man sits down on a bench (or in this case, in the middle of nowhere) with a story in mind. It doesnâ(TM)t matter if he has an actual audience; he tells his story anyway. Steve Martin is incredible in his performance as Navin. He gives a performance that would be impossible for even the most talented comedian to emulate. Whatâ(TM)s great is that his character doesnâ(TM)t play out as a comedian. He doesnâ(TM)t act as a bum looking to impress people with his humor, nor does he look like heâ(TM)s acting stupid to evoke laughter. Rather naturally, he acts like an imbecile who truly doesnâ(TM)t know what he is doing, someone we can have fun laughing at without the characterâ(TM)s expressed consent. If you need a picture painted, watch DUMB & DUMBER (if you want gross) or last yearâ(TM)s TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL (if you want violent), but think of one of those stupid troupes as one homeless numbskull. The reason this film seems a little less funny than it should be (though it is a hoot) may just be that it seems to be missing someone. DUMB & DUMBER came fifteen years after this, and it proved to work out much better, because there were two âjerksâ� in the story. With only one âjerk,â� the story seems to be a stand-up act. Like I said, Martin certainly doesnâ(TM)t try to act like a comedianâ"he certainly is one alreadyâ"but the story seems as if broken into uneven segments. Itâ(TM)s like going to a stand-up comedy performance and suddenly becoming part of a skit. The supporting characters appear only for so long, and they always look like a witnessing audience laughing at Martinâ(TM)s character as if heâ(TM)s trying to be funny. (Just look at the expression on the gas station workerâ(TM)s face, for example, upon seeing Nevin open up a bathroom stall, thinking it was the door to the kitchen!) The only characters that seem to recur are Nevinâ(TM)s âfamily,â� who we see in the beginning, in the very end, and occasionally in between reading the postcards they receive from Nevin. Again, Martin is pervasively in character, convincing as a true imbecile, so much that the supporting cast/audience seem to be having a ball in his little situations. That said, THE JERK is certainly funny, but it would have made much more sense as a truncated series of television episodes or shorts.

• Thomas J

  
  Few movies can stand the test of time like this one!! Love me some Steve Martin!

• Daniel P

  
  A genius exercise in the absurd that's also a watchable comedy. Truly a classic. Acting's a little weak and it has to get a little cheesy in order for there to be a resolution, but this is a can't-miss movie that had me howling.

• Jim H

  
  An idiot sets out to find his place in the larger world, encountering colorful characters on his way. I saw an interview with Steve Martin, and he said, "I was watching comedians at that time [the early 70s], and everybody was just angry. And I thought to myself, 'There is… More
  An idiot sets out to find his place in the larger world, encountering colorful characters on his way. I saw an interview with Steve Martin, and he said, "I was watching comedians at that time [the early 70s], and everybody was just angry. And I thought to myself, 'There is no way this is going to last, so I'm just going to be silly.'" The problem I have with Martin's reasoning, and by extension, <i>The Jerk</i> is this: I like those "angry" comedians because what they said wasn't just free-flowing hostility. In many cases, like George Carlin and Lenny Bruce, they had complex and astute social criticisms. Their comedy challenged social conventions and exposed folly in ways that only the glass of satire and the barbs of a well-constructed joke can. So, when Martin's character runs awkwardly or covers his balls up with a live dog, I find very little to engage with. In the end, I simply find <i>The Jerk</i> unfunny. Now, I must admit a chuckle or two during Navin and Marie's first date, and his awkward request, "Next time you make love with your boyfriend, could you think of me?" actually produced a slight guffaw. But overall, I didn't find much to laugh about. And why does Marie leave him? Such an important plot point should be given some explanation. Overall, <I>The Jerk</i> is simply not my style.

• AJ V

  
  This movie was just so crazy that it actually worked! It has so many hilarious scenes, and the story is ridiculous, but it's very fun, and I really like it.

• Michael G

  
  I don't understand how Steve Martin could do something this amazing and hilarious and never come even remotely close ever again. His timing was perfect and I can't get enough of this movie. Bernadette Peters was an absolute doll and any scene with M. Emmet Walsh was absolute… More
  I don't understand how Steve Martin could do something this amazing and hilarious and never come even remotely close ever again. His timing was perfect and I can't get enough of this movie. Bernadette Peters was an absolute doll and any scene with M. Emmet Walsh was absolute gold.

• Anthony L

  
  I've only just got round to seeing this one and I can see why it is much loved. Steve Martin used to be funny, it's such a shame he isn't anymore. I think if I'd seen it as a youngster I would probably be quite found of it but viewing it as an adult 31 years after… More
  I've only just got round to seeing this one and I can see why it is much loved. Steve Martin used to be funny, it's such a shame he isn't anymore. I think if I'd seen it as a youngster I would probably be quite found of it but viewing it as an adult 31 years after it was made I just found it to be quite good.

• Jennifer D

  
  Was I the only one that was not entranced by this movie? There were a couple of cheap 'heh's but it was certainly nothing memorable. The funniest part was the dog, Shithead.

• Spencer S

  
  One of Martin's first true stab at his own film, it all revoles around Martin's stand up. From the first line, "I was born a poor black child," you know there will be off color humor, an interesting POV, and that Martin sincerity and charm.

• Thomas B

  
  Very funny stuff. Full review later.

• Tim S

  
  Steve Martin's best film.

• Luke B

  
  The Jerk is amazingly fresh and new despite being 29 years old. The jokes are fast and furious and are held together by a simple plot which is still engaging. Classic jokes come by almost as randomly as Walsh chooses Martin as his next victim. A hilarious can shoot out, a dog named… More
  The Jerk is amazingly fresh and new despite being 29 years old. The jokes are fast and furious and are held together by a simple plot which is still engaging. Classic jokes come by almost as randomly as Walsh chooses Martin as his next victim. A hilarious can shoot out, a dog named Shithead and some perfectly delivered lines, these are the kind of jokes that get better with age and can be even funnier as you anticipate their arrival. The comedy often doesn't make that much sense but it is a kind of intelligent stupidity. Martin is wonderful as a hapless idiot and his supporting cast get plenty of great material to work with. I doubt this film will ever age and I'm suprised how many of the jokes have not been lifted from comedies since it was released. Though they may have been I doubt they would have made as much of an impact as this kind of comedy is priceless.

• xGary X

  
  The Jerk is the story of Navin R. Johnson, who was born a poor black kid but on hearing muzak for the first time discovers his rhythm and set out to find his special purpose...Some younger movie-goers may not know this, but Steve Martin actually used to be funny. This is one of his… More
  The Jerk is the story of Navin R. Johnson, who was born a poor black kid but on hearing muzak for the first time discovers his rhythm and set out to find his special purpose...Some younger movie-goers may not know this, but Steve Martin actually used to be funny. This is one of his early films, and as such is far more concerned with random silliness and slapstick than the saccharine soaked sentimentality that became his trademark. I loved this film when I was younger but inevitably on revisiting it, it wasn't as funny as I remembered. I think the problem is that the Zucker/Abrams franchise behemoth has long since milked this particular brand of humour dry, so it all looks far more everyday and run-of-the-mill than it used to. But it's still got plenty of laugh out loud moments, including funny turns from Jackie Mason ("he's teaching me to be impatient") and M. Emmett Walsh as a psychotic lone gunman, as well as plenty of visual gags and one liners (the cat juggler in particular is straight out of Monty Python!) Maybe not the work of genius I remembered, but still a better than anything he's done in the past two decades, and certainly a hell of a lot funnier than Adam bloody Sandler.

• Candy R

  
  Steve is the jerk who doesn't fit in at home or in the real world.

• Lenny M

  
  Classic

• James A

  
  A movie that has held up throughout time and possibly even gotten better with its age.

• Curtis L

  
  That's all i need...and this chair, that's all i need...

• Dan S

  
  Hilarious. Martin's first movie, just great stuff.

• Aaron N

  
  Navin: It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi. Steve Martin stars in his first lead role back in 1979 as Navin Johnson. He was a child left of the door… More
  Navin: It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi. Steve Martin stars in his first lead role back in 1979 as Navin Johnson. He was a child left of the door step of black sharecroppers, and was raised on as one of their own. Upon growing up, he learns of this and decides it time to go out on his own, despite his lack of any sort of education. He goes through some ups and downs, from rags to riches to rags, with naive innocence all along the way. Steve Martin has many funny moments throughout the film. Some classic scenes of comic wackiness. Bernadette Peters also stars, and provides some more fun. The movie may have a lot of gags, going from one to the next, with not perfect consistency, but its enjoyable, with plenty of great scenes. Navin: How'd you find me! Tash: I don't know, this is the first place we looked.

• Leigh R

  
  Fantastically spectacular...

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