The Jerk (1979) - 6/10

The Jerk. That sounds like a title that’s not going to play well in 2025, which is when this reviewer is watching for the first time. Steve Martin is said jerk. His name is Navin and this is his rag to riches and back to rags again story. Which starts with Navin finding out he’s adopted and not from a poor black like he thought. The revelation explains why he doesn’t fit with the stereotype and why The Blues depress him. Yep that’s the level, bonkers slapstick. Heading out into the world alone, he’s surely headed for disaster, but there’s a rollercoaster ride to get there. Navin is a whirlwind of enthusiasm. Landing a job at a gas station with Harry (Jackie Mason), he gets into a host of implausibly ridiculous situations with his dog shithead and before long finds himself in a traveling carnival where he meets the psychotic Patty (Catlin Adam) and falls in love with Marie (Bernadette Peters). None of this really makes any sense, but it’s not concerned with that. It’s like Forest Gump, but insanely stupid. Martin is good though and  it has its moments. There’s some great lines, you can see why it has the admiration it does and enjoys classic comedy status… but watching it for the first time 46 years on from release, it didn’t do much for me. I chuckled a bit and Navin using shithead to hide his modesty and evading reformed hitmen with breakfast cereal is genuinely funny. It’s satirically sharper than it first appears and I’m sure watching this in 1979 would be a laugh a minute… but it’s not aged that well. It’s worth a watch if you’ve not seen it before, but don’t expect too much and if you’ve seen this before and loved it, maybe don’t watch it again and spoil the memory.

6/10