The Jerk (1979)

My Review

“The Jerk” is a comedy film telling the story of a homeless man in Los Angeles who started out as the adopted son of black sharecroppers in Mississippi. Director Carl Reiner (“The Comic” 1969) and screenwriter Steve Martin put together a very unusual comedy which basically reflects the strange sense of humor of Martin. Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias co-wrote the script with Martin.

Steve Martin made his feature film debut here as Navin R. Johnson, who seemed to go from situation to situation and comedy to drama and back again to comedy in the meandering style of this storyline. His co-stars include Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Mabel King, Bill Macy, M. Emmet Walsh, Maurice Evans, Dick O’Neill, Jackie Mason, Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner, and newsman Clete Roberts.

The watchable “The Jerk” was the ninth highest grossing film of 1979 for Aspen Film Society and Universal Studios. It was filmed in and around Los Angeles County, California. A made-for-television sequel called “The Jerk, Too” was aired on NBC in 1984 with Martin as producer, but not starring in or writing for the show.