The Jerk (1979)

I saw "The Jerk" several times on the screen when it first released and then I have watched it either as a video or on TV (the butchered version, where the dog "Shithead" gets changed to "Stupid", etc.). I always thought it was funny, if not more than a little stupid. Even so, it's been quite a while since I've seen the original version.

Well, about a week or so ago, my 14-year-old grandson asked me if I wanted to watch "Joe Dirt" with him, and based upon the reviews I had read, I wanted to say no, but I could tell it was important to him. Well, "Joe Dirt" is by no means that great, but I was amazed that I found myself laughing at it. And after the movie was over, it occurred to me that, if my grandson liked this story-of-a-loser's-life-as-told-by-the-loser, he would at least enjoy "The Jerk", which uses a similar plot device. Of course, "The Jerk" is not at all as raunchy and gross as "Joe Dirt", which tries to emulate the Farrelly brothers. But I still had hope that my grandson might enjoy it, so I rented it so we could watch it together.

My grandson roared! I have never heard him laugh so loud and so often while watching any movie. He could not contain himself during the scenes in Navin Johnson's old shack of a home, where he believed he grew up as a part of a poor but close African-American family in Mississippi. He loved the part when the crazy guy picks out Navin's name from the telephone book by pure chance, and tries to shoot him, but Navin, in his stupidity, thinks the guy is really trying to shoot the oil cans right next to him, because the crazed sniper (M. Everett Walsh) keeps accidentally hitting them when he misses Navin. And when Navin finally gets the courage to be intimate with Marie (Bernadette Peters), and as we are all expecting an amorous kiss, he licks the side of her face! OK, OK, it's stupid, but it's also hilarious! My grandson was roaring with laughter throughout, including the bit about "And I don't need anything! Well, I need this thing here. But I don't need anything else! Well, I need this..."

"The Jerk" made me laugh all over again. It has become funnier with age, even though some of the jokes are dated. (By the way, even a classic comedy such as "Blazing Saddles" has become dated due to its lame ending.)

And I noticed that some reviewers actually find "The Jerk" to be a racist movie. Why? Because of the one scene in which the N-word was used and turned into great satire? They must have watched a totally different film than the one I have watched over the years. Or has political correctness totally gone crazy and lost all sense of humor?

Fmovies: The Jerk is one awesome movie. Steve Martin has never failed in making me laugh. This movie is constant laughs, with Martin supported by a strong supporting cast. Some of the jokes in this one are the kind you find yourself quoting forever, Steve Martin just rocks. Period. For those who haven't seen this movie....SEE IT.

The Jerk is a great movie that stands out to the world. It's unique and fun in it's different way. Steve Martin plays a simple-minded man who strikes it rich and then falls back to the low-class way. The best part of the movie is the dialogue, it spreads from Martin's tasteless quotes to a different tone everytime. It's a classic movie... Even if it sometimes falls flat.

The Jerk fmovies. I think that Steve Martin as a stand-up comic was brilliant beyond most people's understanding. His humor often werid ,intelligent and always funny is among the best ever. The jerk is his only movie that feels like Steve martin stand up. To some level so does the man with two brains put the jerk is amazing on that level.

If you are even paying attention to the camera direction, or anything technical about this film you just don't get it. I have seen the Jerk so many times I know it by heart and i swear I laugh everytime. Best comedy ever. YES!

I am 16 years old. Therefore, i was not even around when this movie was made. The one day, though, i was walking through the movie store, and i saw a sign that said 2 movies for ten dollars. So, with my dads advice, i bought this movie. I watched it, and couldn't stop laughing the whole way through. I realized that Steve Martin is the funniest man ever. Period. Second to none. This movie was the funniest movie I've ever seen, and it got me hooked on other Steve Martin movies. Since then, I seen Planes Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the Father of the Bride movies, and i can't get enough of him. I can only hope that he starts to act in more comedies, because i haven't seen him in any for a while. My rating for The Jerk is ten out of ten, two thumbs up, and five out of five stars. Thank you, Steve Martin.

A very popular movie in its day, watching it a couple of years ago wasn't the same. Oh, it was still funny but just not the "hilarious" movie I always remembered it as. Maybe its reputation and memory exceeded its value, or maybe it's funnier when you are younger.

Whatever, there is still a lot of good laughs in year, subtle and slapstick variety. Now I laugh more at the subtle things. Almost all the characters in here, beginning with Steve Martin's "Navin R. Johnson," are wacky. Bernadette Peters, by the way, never looked prettier. This was in the earlier days of the ratings system and that PG rating would be at least PG-13 today. It still fun to see it after a long absence. Martin was on a roll back in those days, "a wild and crazy guy," and it's good that he's still entertaining us -- years later, although in a more subtle way. Hey, he's getting older, too.