Reichtum ist keine Schande

The Jerk is a great movie that stands out to the world. It's unique and fun in it's different way. Steve Martin plays a simple-minded man who strikes it rich and then falls back to the low-class way. The best part of the movie is the dialogue, it spreads from Martin's tasteless quotes to a different tone everytime. It's a classic movie... Even if it sometimes falls flat.

You've gotta love the 70's. That is a decade that produced some of the greatest comedies, dramas, war films, art films, etc etc. If it's a classic and it was released in the second half of the 20th century, chances are it was the 70's. The Jerk is just another of those classic screwball comedies that we all know and love. It's no Airplane! but it is a lot of fun and has plenty of that same goofy, quirky, and all around bizarre humor. Steve Martin plays Navin Andrews, a man who was raised by a black family in Missouri. On his birthday one year, Navin finally learns that this family of kindly black southerners aren't his real family and so Navin decides to set out and make something of his life by traveling to St. Louis. The film opens with Navin sitting under a staircase next to a movie theater, drinking whiskey with two of his hobo buddies. He introduces himself to the audience saying that he isn't a bum, just a jerk. He then proceeds to tell us of his life and the story goes from there, taking off into all sorts of weird and wacky places with strange characters and events, where hilarity always ensues.

Steve Martin is what makes this movie without a doubt. He is absolutely hysterical and delivers the best lines of the film. The character of Navin is an absolute idiot who can't comprehend the real world to save his life. Thus we see him getting into all sorts of hilarious situations that any normal person would have just found a simplistic way out of. But Navin delivers all the laughs as Steve Martin bumbles around as one of the most entertaining characters I've ever seen in one of these screwball comedies. Great comedy comes from great improv, something this film allegedly has a lot of. And I'll believe it because there are some moments where I could never have seen that put on paper. Moments that could only be conceived by the spontaneous mind of a comedic genius like Steve Martin. I'm talking about those moments when Martin will do something so absurd and so unexpected that you can even see the actors he is with begin to break down. Everyone has fun with this movie, and it makes it all the more enjoyable.

As fun as this movie is, you still have to remember that it is just a screwball comedy. It isn't trying to accomplish anything major, and it just wants to elicit a good laugh. And it definitely did that for me. There are plenty of dumb things about this movie and moments that aren't as funny as others. I can't help but compare this movie to Airplane and its farcical nature. Airplane definitely does a better job than The Jerk and it has a more consistently hilarious spoof tone to it. The Jerk is funny from start to finish and definitely never tries to take itself seriously, but it is really a film you have to put yourself in a much lighter and less intellectual state of mind to watch and enjoy. There's nothing inherently wrong with this brand of comedy, but it is pretty simple. Yet, when done right, you get great results, and I can't deny that The Jerk does it right.

Films like these I can only enjoy to a certain extent, and that is solely based off of personal opinion. The Jerk is a hilarious film and is actually really well made for what it's worth. There is never a dull moment and Steve Martin is hysterical. This film is nothing more than a screwball comedy, and you will know it about fifteen minutes in. As far as comedies go, this one is great, and there is a lot of fun to be had with it.

A very popular movie in its day, watching it a couple of years ago wasn't the same. Oh, it was still funny but just not the "hilarious" movie I always remembered it as. Maybe its reputation and memory exceeded its value, or maybe it's funnier when you are younger.

Whatever, there is still a lot of good laughs in year, subtle and slapstick variety. Now I laugh more at the subtle things. Almost all the characters in here, beginning with Steve Martin's "Navin R. Johnson," are wacky. Bernadette Peters, by the way, never looked prettier. This was in the earlier days of the ratings system and that PG rating would be at least PG-13 today. It still fun to see it after a long absence. Martin was on a roll back in those days, "a wild and crazy guy," and it's good that he's still entertaining us -- years later, although in a more subtle way. Hey, he's getting older, too.

It was sheer dumb luck that while reading Steve Martin's autobiography earlier this year I saw his film The Jerk was being shown on TV. A few months later and the threat of my DVR being erased, I finally took the time to view it. Martin definitely did something special, infusing his stand-up routine into a story of one man's rise to wealth and subsequent loss of everything. His crazy persona takes center stage right from the start as we meet Navin Johnson, not a bum on the street, but a jerk who has lost it all. His slowed down drunk speech and deep tones as he begins to tell the camera the story of his life set up the collection of gags and jokes you can't even imagine will come your way. Here we have a man that was born into a black southern family, always wondering why his skin was so light and why he could never keep up with the rhythm of blues music. With a penchant for Twinkies and Tab cola, something was amiss and only when he heard a strange new song on the radio, one his white body could dance to, does he realize he needed to see the world and show it his "special purpose".

I really think I wouldn't have enjoyed my time with this character if I hadn't read Martin's book first. Knowing his stand-up background made it fun to spot tired and true aspects throughout the movie. You have the juggling, the ukulele, and the "all I need is this ashtray, and I don't need anything else, well except this paddle-game, all I need is this ashtray and the paddle-game … and these matches …" schtick that surprising goes on long in the film, but never gets old. I think it has to do with the way it is shot, in a still-framed composition as he gradually goes further and further away, his voice getting softer and softer. It really is well-orchestrated and credit goes to either he or director Carl Reiner for the success. There are definite lulls in the action, as is inherent in films like this being a stream of jokes tied together, but there is bound to be some failures amongst the true gems. When the laughs hit, though, they hit pretty hard—even if it might just be because of how off-the-wall the gag is.

For a guy like Martin, fresh off of his club appearances and television variety shows, he is quite a natural. The Jerk marks his first major film role, the lead part in his own movie, something that shows how powerful he was based on record sales alone and no real reputation for acting on screen. He gets his wild and crazy guy dancing involved along with other staples from his repertoire to help the audience find their bearings and remember that this is the guy they hear at home every night for laughs. This really is the start of a powerhouse's career and he planned it out to perfection.

Having a supporting cast like he does can't hurt either. Bernadette Peters did not have many film jobs beforehand, probably just known mostly for her stage work. Her vocal prowess is on display as well as her comedic timing and blank face reactions to Martin's antics. I don't know if anyone else could have taken his face lick with such class. Martin's family is a lot of fun too, always singing and dancing and trying their best to make him a part of the group. I really enjoyed Dick Anthony Williams as his brother Taj. This is the one person who understands the absurdity of the situation and when Navin writes home about the possibility of a new job from his girlfriend, Williams' smirk and laughter is absolutely fantastic.

A lot works and plenty doesn't, but when you understand the film's place in history, you must give it a lot of credit. People took a chance on this unproven young man and ushered in a new era of comedians. With "Saturday Night Live" beginning it's perpetual lifespan around the same time, The Jerk became a sign of things to come. If you look at the comedy world today, everything seems to be manifested from the minds of comedians who started on stage or in TV. Shows are based on comedy acts and films molded from characters. Most of them fail miserably, but the strong success of a select few keep the money flowing, hoping to discover that next new cash cow. With scenes like those at the gas station here, Navin's first real job, you can't help but feel as though it could have been a skit translated and expanded for screen. Between Jackie Mason's utter wonderment at his employee's penchant for jubilance and M. Emmet Walsh's search for a random civilian to murder, the scene is the highlight of a film chock full of good one-liners. When Martin looks at the exploding oil cans and then at the gun-toting whackjob, he screams, "that guy really hates cans!" I couldn't stop laughing as he gets cornered by a coca-cola machine and a can display indoors. It is comedy gold and with plenty more to complement, you will be smiling once the credits roll.

I'm glad that I didn't see this in the theatre, because when I watched it the first time on video, I needed to pause the movie several times just to catch my breath from laughing so hard! Wait a minute...was that the first time, or the tenth time? Playing Navin R. Johnson, the white son of a black family, Steve Martin leaves home to find "his special purpose." By the end of the movie, we all know what that was...to entertain his fans the way he has! As for Navin's special purpose, if you haven't already seen the movie, you aren't going to get any more information than what's here. It takes intelligence to play a complete idiot, and Steve Martin does the job extremely well. Also take note of Martin's costar Bernadette Peters, and the cameo appearances by Jackie Mason and Carl Reiner. Whoever wrote that people who watch "The Jerk" will be quoting its jokes for years after was absolutely right. This was the funniest of Steve Martin's movies!