Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty

I give it a 9, only because it's a little dated (26 yrs. next month)-- but is STILL the classic from what I remember. I had recorded this onto VHS at the time, and had since lost or erased it for some unknown reason. In the late 90's, I was able to get to the Museum of TV in New York City, and got to view the show again for the first time in like 15+ yrs.... and have since wondered (with the advent of Internet) if there were any available copies or recordings of the special anywhere on the 'net, and if anyone HERE maybe have a clue. In fact, ALL Steve Martin's TV specials should be available somewhere, on DVD or online. I still have a VHS-recorded copy of his 1981 special, with one of the last appearances of John Belushi on TV.

Great examples of the old style Steve Martin, "... a wild and crazy guy!"

Some people will love this work, others will hate it. If you like the "early" Steve Martin you will love this.

Some of the bits work better than others, but as a whole it stands up as gut busting funny!

My favorite is the "Born-Again Dry Cleaner". That's like trying to pick my favorite child. I love them all for their good points and their bad points.

More actors than I can name off the top of my head, and you see them in funny, off beat roles!

Hopefully someday it will be avaliable on DVD!

Try and see it, you'll be glad you did.

Iosepa,

Layton, Utah

I watched this special when I was very young, but to this day, my family will still occasionally reference the incredulous Socrates when he learns that hemlock is poisonous: "iiiiiit iiiiiiis?" The diver with the tuna fish sandwich also stands out, as it appealed to my sister's and my childish humor, as does the swimmer in the slow lane.

I can't believe that anyone could be offended by the steamroller PSA, as one poster mentioned, unless they have lost a loved one to a drunk driver. Even then, the setup is so outlandish, and the flattened little boy is so cartoonish, that I can't see anything to get riled up about. When I saw the steamroller bit in Austin Powers, it immediately made me picture Steve Martin hamming it up as he tried to stop the steamroller, and the little boy just standing in front of it for what seemed like an eternity.

I'd love to watch the full special again to see how it stands up today, but, as others have mentioned, it's hard to come by.

Wow! The good old days of Steve Martin. While occasionally funny, this one really just seemed to be a loose collection of ideas for jokes that didn't make Saturday Night Live. Some are quite funny, ranging from the El Paso/Monkey sketch to the "Bizzare Oddities of the World". However, going deeper in, there are a lot of turkeys. The 'Holy DryCleaner' really just miss. Others seem to run on too long or deviate too far into the weird, like 'Anti-Terrorist Public Service Message' which just seems to vere off from funny to lame... and then grind to a halt.

All in all though, I would recommend this one for 'classic' Steve Martin fans. The bizarre level of the jokes may be a bit much for the casual fan, but the die hards (like myself) should really get a kick out of it.

This was one of the funniest 1 hour shows I remember when I was growing up. Hilarious skits. His Laundry service played out as a southern preacher, and his drunken steamroller driver with Regis Philbin stand out in my mind. But the skits that are most memorable to me are the Death of Socrates (Where he is surprised that none of his followers told him that "Hemlock is Poisonous") and the one where he plays out the Marty Robbin Song "El Paso" with Monkeys and Elephant are just simply side-splitting. At the time, I didn't have a VHS recorder, so I don't have it. But I am curious if anyone knows if this is on VHS or on DVD? I haven't seen it, but you never know what is out there. These skits are definitely worth keeping in anyones collection.