Dec. 15, 1979 movie review: Steve Martin in "The Jerk"

 


Every once in a while 45 years ago, I got to review a movie.

Dec. 15, 1979 review

The Jerk: Wild, Crazy – And Funny

         Excu-u-u-u-u-use me for a minute while I ask a serious question. What is the funniest part of the new Steve Martin movie, “The Jerk?”

         Is it when Steve, as the adopted son of Black Southern sharecroppers, tunes in a late-night radio station and starts dancing uncontrollably to a corny old big-band tune?

         Is it when Steve’s Black adoptive mother makes him his favorite soul foods for his birthday – a tuna fish sandwich on white bread, a pair of Twinkies and a can of Tab?

         Is it when Steve, hitchhiking off to make his mark in the world, waits for hours and then gets a ride that takes him only to the end of his yard?

         Is it when Steve, as an attendant at Jackie Mason’s gas station, tries to stop some credit card thieves by chaining their car to a church, only to see them drag the church away behind them?

         Is it when Steve, working in the carnival as a weight guesser, takes up with wild and crazy Catlin Adams, the lady motorcycle daredevil?

         Is it when she beats him up?

         Is it when Steve, who has never learned how to kiss, puckers up and lays a big wet tongue on the cheek of his second sweetheart, Bernadette Peters?

         Is it when Bernadette Peters walks out on Steve while he’s in the tub and he tries to read her water-smeared message aloud?

         Is it when Steve, running outdoors without a stitch of clothing, embarrassedly picks up a couple of dogs to conceal his nakedness?

         Is it when producer Carl Reiner appears on television to tell the world that Steve’s stupid little invention (the Opti-Grab, a handle for eyeglasses) is dangerous?

         Is it when Steve, shattered and shambling after his financial collapse, picks up an armload of loony mementos to walk away with?

         You could easily drive yourself wacko trying to decide. I can’t. Next time I see this film, I’m taking a laughometer. The time after that, maybe I’ll take my girlfriend. It’s rated R (for language) and it’s playing at the Thruway Mall and Eastern Hills Mall cinemas.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Poster for “The Jerk” – $13.96 on eBay.

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FOOTNOTE: “The Jerk” was a hit. Reviewers liked it. It had an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was the eighth highest-grossing movie of 1979. Some consider it the funniest film ever made.

         As I noted in a preview story about the film on the previous Sunday, “To promote it, Universal Studios brought writers to five cities – New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles – showed them the film, then hooked them up by satellite to interview Steve Martin and Carl Reiner in L.A. Little did the writers know they could get a better interview with Steve by reading the one in the January issue of Playboy magazine. Still, this was unique. Each city got to ask questions for 15 minutes. It was kind of like do-it-yourself Phil Donohue. You could talk to the people on your TV.”  

As for me, I got to go on one of those all-expenses-paid film junkets, back in the days when The News would allow that sort of thing to happen. Oddly, in this case, I remember absolutely nothing about it.

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