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Jerk
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by Universal Studios
Sales Rank: 640
Price: $9.98
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Carl Reiner (<I>Where's Poppa?</I>) brought comic Steve Martin to the screen in this mostly funny 1979 movie about a relentlessly stupid but innocent man, whom we get to know from childhood (where it never occurred to him that he was white as he was raised by a family of black sharecroppers) to romance (where he doesn't quite know what to do with Bernadette Peters). Martin is game as the moron, and this is the kind of film with funny moments people still talk about. <I>--Tom Keogh</I>
Viewer Reviews
`The Jerk' is one of those comedies that is talked about by just about everyone; one of those comedies you feel almost incomplete if you haven't seen since everyone else around you has seen it and is always talking about it. Well, that's at least how it was with me until like a week ago when I finally got around to watching it.
The film tells the story of Navin Johnson, a white man who was raised by blacks. After finding his rhythm he decides to leave home and spread his wings. He picks up a slew of odd jobs here and there before joining the circus and meeting the girl of his dreams and then accidentally making millions when he creates an odd invention that proves to be a hit. After making his money and squandering most of it he finds himself destitute and alone, yet again.
Like the tagline suggests; this is a rags to riches, to rags kind of story.
The script is actually really well written because it manages to be funny almost all of the time. There are a few scenes that don't quite work too well, but the films short running time also helps with keeping the pace brisk and so the film really doesn't have time to meander on the weak jokes; they just move right along to the ones that work. Steve Martin (in his film starring debut) is a comedian whom we all have come to know and love and respect, and this may very well be his finest hour. He is utterly hysterical, and he actually manages to bring a shade of humane naivety to his characters senseless acts. We actually really like this guy regardless of how stupid he is.
Martin is helped out by a large and impressive cast, everyone from Bernadette Peters to Catlin Adams to M. Emmet Walsh showing up to raise the roof. Walsh has a hilarious role here as the madman who randomly picks Navin's name from a phonebook and plans to murder him. The scene alone may be the best scene in the film and is well worth the cost of the DVD.
Truth be told, this is not everyone's cup of tea or type of humor. This is far more slapstick than intelligent, but I think you would know that already. If you are more into the mature comedies then this may not be for you, but if you can appreciate a good `over-the-top' laugh riot then this is a film you're going to want to see. You're bound to find a laugh somewhere, whether it's from the name of Navin's dog or from the discovery of Navin's `special purpose'; this movie is designed to tickle that funny bone.
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Jerk
Available from Amazon
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Last Modified : 1-6-2009
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