The Jerk

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Phil H. @PapercutsAndJumpcuts Feb 18 The Jerk is basically Steve Martin asking how long pure stupidity can stay funny… & then proving the answer is “a very long time, but not forever.” The movie runs on jokes that shouldn’t work and somehow keep escalating instead of wearing out. Martin’s Navin isn’t innocent so much as immune to self-awareness, the ol’ SNL template… which turns every setback into momentum. Some bits absolutely date themselves, but the rhythm never does. And the comedy comes from commitment, not cleverness. It’s not deep, it’s not tidy, & it absolutely doesn’t care… which is exactly why it still (mostly) lands. See more Brent H @BrentMHinson Oct 29 I grew up watching "The Jerk" so much that, to this day, I continue to quote lines from it with my mother. At its core, and what makes it so great is that it's a classic fish-out-of-water story. We see the innocence of Martin's "Navin Johnson" character as he experiences life outside of his sheltered existence and watch as he falls victim to the spoils of the materialistic world. Yes, it's funny to laugh as he stumbles and falls through various events in his life, but maybe we're laughing because, at some point or another, we've fallen victim to the harshness of the real world like Navin. Nowadays, Steve Martin is known for being more of the "straight man" in his comedic roles, but here, he goes all-in with the kind of laughable slapstick humor that made him so popular in the mid-to-late seventies. I watched "The Jerk" with my 18-year-old son. While he found it likable, he wasn't accustomed to seeing Martin in roles outside the type of characters he had played in movies like "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" or "Parenthood." Maybe there's a generational disconnect because, after seeing it over 20 times (probably more than that), I still belly-laugh at jokes and scenes I've seen so many times I could reenact them word-for-word myself. So, if you haven't figured it out by this point, I love this movie and heavily encourage you to see it if you've never experienced the genius of this film. See more Kyle M @RT77296778 Aug 28 A bland joke whereas Harrison Ford and Carl Reiner’s cameos are the only highlights when Steve Martin debuted his comedic star vehicle on imaginative fuel with contrived engines in demeaning form that meaninglessly gasses his co-stars. (C-) See more David F @dfulmer Aug 26 An over the top, silly, comedy. See more Johnathan B @jang103 Aug 24 Definitely need too try pizza in a cup lol 😂 See more Oggie B @OGDawg Jul 24 Every scene offers something funny; every scene subverts expectations. See more Read all reviews

The Jerk

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