¡Steve! (martin): un documental en 2 partes

I enjoyed this 2 part doc on Apple TV+. I had generally forgotten about Steve Martin in recent decades after having watched most of his 1980s movie output as a teenager.

Part 1 went into his childhood and early career in standup ending as his massive fame as a standup peaked in 1980.

Part 2 focussed on his pivot to movies and then catches up with his life since then focussing on his interests in fine art, his marriage and fatherhood, and recent work with Martin Short. Much of the latter episode is Steve and Martin working on current material in their joint show.

Some very touching moments as he tries to reconcile with his distant and cold father - the difficult relationship that seems to have defined his persona. Also as he reads a passage from Planes, Trains and Automobiles and remembers the late John Candy. Many great contributions throughout from people who worked with Steve over the years - commenting on his talent, his detachment, his personal struggles. Overall a thoughtful piece of work and a nostalgic one as I recalled having recited so many of his jokes from late 70s/ early 80s.

Other than enjoying Steve Martin's performances in a few iconic film roles, I knew relatively nothing about the man coming into this documentary-especially as it related to his stand-up comedy career. While "Steve!" certainly filled in a lot of those gaps, I found it to be "just okay" as a three-hour viewing experience in large part because I found one episode to be pretty clearly superior to the other.

The first episode focuses almost exclusively on Martin's childhood and then ascent in the magic/comedy realms-to the point of becoming one of the most popular stand-up performers in the history of the medium. I had absolutely no idea that he had hit those heights and was truly a cultural phenomenon. I really enjoyed this installment and its ending understandably teased a transition to examining Martin's film roles and present-day life.

While that second episode does ostensibly do those things, it does so from a very scattered perspective. Instead of the linear path of its predecessor, episode two is scattered. Martin's film career really isn't the focus-rather the result of reflections from his creation of a comic/sketch book of his life with an illustrator and just ramblings around Los Angeles with buddy Martin Short. There are certainly some stand-out nuggets in this installment (like Martin's newfound family life), but it meanders to the point of potentially being boring to some viewers. Unless you have a vested interest in Martin & Short sitting around swapping cringe-worthy punchlines, this hour-and-a-half might fall a little flat.

Overall, then, I settle on a solid-but-not-spectacular 7/10 star rating for "Steve!" as a whole. Parts of it really struck a chord with me and filled in Martin's "cultural gaps"; other parts were simply too slow and inane for me to identify with.

Beautiful documentary. It is filled with kindness. Very few people I love and respect as Steve Martin, he is in the company of Tom Hanks, Jeff Goldblum, Conan O'Brien...His life story is both a hardship and a triumph of man. There is wisdom in the film, about work, family, friendship, love. I learned about him so much from it for which I am grateful. I read the other comments on it, some find it boring or just simply bad, I should learn from Steve Martin and should not say bad things about others, I just wish they watched a marvel action movie instead if they wanted a lot of action. I cannot understand how could they not find treasure upon treasure in this. I hope Martin Short will live as long as, at least as, Steve Martin will, I wouldn't want a world where he stops creating. This is not a perfect film but it is for me. Thank you for making it.

The early statements in this fawning documentary that he was the only comic in the 70s breaking new ground and the most important comic is pathetic. Richard Pryor and George Carlin were comedic geniuses. For all his faults which came to light later, at that time Bill Cosby was huge and important in the comedy scene. And Gabe Kaplan. This documentary is boring and sadly lacks true context. Steve Martin's clownish act in the 70s and early 80s does not stand the test of time and he comes off as a novelty act in episode 1. They somehow make the very funny movie "The Jerk" into a bland footnote. Very disappointing documentary.

Being deliberately unfunny hoping to get laughs seems a doomed strategy for a standup comedian but eventually it worked for Steve Martin. The first comedian to fill arenas he then went on to a very successful movie career endearing audiences with his everyman persona. The second part of this two-episode series takes us inside Martin's private life to some extent, though he is understandably protective of his family. His relationship with his cold and distant father, for whom he never seemed to be good enough, explains much of the sad clown he became. A bachelor for most of his career, Martin became a father only late in life. We are taken inside his writing collaboration with Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building as well as his fascination for art collecting and banjo playing. Steve Martin is a wild and crazy (but also loveable) guy and this documentary is an excellent record of his achievements and a tribute to the perseverance of his artistry.