*** (out of ****)
"The Jerk" (1979) is a sophomoric, lowbrow, and occasionally vulgar comedy! God bless it!
As I reflected on "The Jerk" my past memories organized the movie as a collection of vignettes that never quite equaled a whole. In other words, I really didn't remember a plot so much as a series of gags. As I watched the movie again that description is partially true but I now believe the movie is a kind of comedic riff on "Easy Rider" (1969) - a man going off on an adventure to "find himself".
In my memories "The Jerk" was very much a "Steve Martin comedy". Yes, him starring it in factors into that but I remembered the story and comedy being centered very much on Martin's sense of humor. He may not have directed the movie but it was his story. Again, in part, that description is true but I now see the hand of the movie's actual director, Carl Reiner, playing a part.
Ever since the legendary comedian Carl Reiner died two years ago, at the age of 98, I have been trying to deal with his death. He was a comedy hero of mine. Yes, he was 98 years old but his death still shocked me. It has led me to go back and examine his work, something I neglected to do while he was alive (I only reviewed three of his movies during that time). Reiner's movies were never really given a critical analysis. He wasn't deemed worthy of such an effort. He wasn't an artist. He wasn't celebrated in pop culture for his movies the way his contemporaries Mel Brooks and Woody Allen were. I began to wonder, was Carl Reiner a great comedy director? Was my admiration making me bias? Were Carl Reiner's movies actually about something? Could we apply the auteur theory to his work? And so, I rewatched his comedies with this in mind and sure enough I began to notice themes re-emerging through his comedies and I see hints of those central themes in "The Jerk".
Reiner's movies follow men going after their dreams. Those dreams usually center around breaking into show business and becoming famous. The more you learn about Reiner's life you soon realize how autobiographical this is. Carl Reiner was such a man that dreamed of making it in show business, after working as a machinist as a young man. It became the only life he knew. Wasn't that really at the center of what his beloved sit-com, "The Dick van Dyke Show", was about? And we see this in his feature films like "Enter Laughing" (1967), "The Comic" (1969), "The One and Only" (1978), "Bert Rigby, You're A Fool" (1989) and sort of in "The Jerk". Our movie's hero, Navin Johnson (Martin) may not want to enter show business but he wants to become somebody.
Prior to the movie's release, Steve Martin was known as a stand-up comic, a "wild and crazy guy" that would wear an arrow going through his head prop and play the banjo. Martin would say he wanted his act to be as irrelevant as possible to counter the heavy mood of the times, post Vietnam. Ironically, he and Rob Reiner (who makes a cameo here) were writers on the Smother Brothers comedy show, known for its anti-Vietnam views. "The Jerk" would be Martin's acting debut in a feature-length movie and begin his collaboration with Carl Reiner. The two men would work on four comedies together, in perhaps what would be the most significant period of Reiner's directing career.
The strategy for "The Jerk" was something similar to what Woody Allen did ten years earlier or Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, and Tim Allen a decade later - base material on a comedian's stand-up act. The appeal of the "early, funny" Allen comedies for example was to see the beloved persona Allen created further expanded and developed. The comedy would be in placing the character in unique settings (the future, 19th century Russia...etc). With Martin it was trying to find a character as zany as his act to sustain a 90 minute comedy. Martin didn't really develop a persona as much as an attitude or style. Allegedly the basis for the movie came from a line in Martin's act - "I was born a poor black child". From this Martin and co-writers (Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias) created a character and a plot.
Reiner on the other hand had directed five feature length comedies. Unfortunately, none of them were box-office successes. Reiner's greatest commercial success at the time was "Oh, God!" (1977), which would rejuvenate the career of George Burns, introducing him to younger audiences. The movie would even score an Academy Award nomination but it would be for the movie's screenplay written by Larry Gelbart (who worked with Reiner back in the 1950s writing for the legendary comedian Sid Caesar). And Chicago's own Gene Siskel, film critic for the Chicago Tribune, would place the movie on his year's end top ten list (the only time Siskel would ever place a Carl Reiner movie on such a list)! But Reiner wasn't given credit for the movie's success. That largely went to George Burns and to a lesser extent co-star John Denver. This "oversight" would continue again with Reiner's collaboration with Martin. Because Martin is the face on the screen, audiences shower him with all the praise (and sometimes the criticism) with Reiner an afterthought.
The premise for "The Jerk" is Navin Johnson, a young adult white male, was taken in by a Southern black family. On the day of his birthday, Navin learns the truth. His skin will never turn black ("you mean I'm gonna stay this color"?) and he was left at the family's doorstep. With this revelation Navin decides he must set out on his own and discover what else is out there in the world.
These opening sequences between Navin and his family go to great comedic exaggerations to present Navin not as a jerk but a simpleton while also engaging in racial stereotypes. For example Navin's favorite sandwich is on white bread and has mayo on it. The first time he hears music that speaks to him and allows him to discover "rhythm" is when he hears what the movie wants us to believe is "bland white music" (in reality it sounds like the kind of arrangement you would hear popular dance bands of the era play. Like something by Roger Wolfe Kahn or Guy Lombardo). This is meant to be in contrast to the "soulful" blues music he hears sung by the family on their front porch. While it may read offensive to young, liberal audiences (whom I'm sure aren't going to be watching this movie anyway) it all actually plays out quite funny. When Navin hears the band play "Crazy Rhythm" on the radio, for the first time ever he starts to snap his fingers to the beat and tap his foot. He wakes up the entire house to share in his accomplishment. It is after hearing this glorious music Navin decides if something like this is out there in the world, what other fantastic things are yet to be revealed to him.
His father (Richard Ward, a weak link in the cast. The character was written as not having much affection for his "son") attempts to "prepare" Navin for the world by taking the literal translation of the phrase not knowing "shit from shinola". Sufficiently groomed for the real world, Navin takes his first step on his exploration and plans to hitchhike a ride. After waiting most of the day for someone to drive by, the best he can do it hitch a ride to the end of his family's fence.
"The Jerk" has a comedy style I often associate with silent slapstick comedy - if it is funny, it will make it in the movie. It doesn't matter if it disrupts the movie's tone or pacing or interferes with character development. The main objective (really the only one) is to make the audience laugh. As such Navin is presented to be an absolute dim-wit, not able to grasp or adjust to basic societal functions. He has no idea how to socially interact with people or understand the ways of the world. He is Forrest Gump before there was Forrest Gump. And like "Forrest Gump" (1994), Navin's journey allows him to meet others that will help guide him. These people include his first boss (Jackie Mason), a business partner (Bill Macy), and love interests - Patty (Catlin Adams) and Marie (Bernadette Peters, who was dating Martin at the time).
Of course, if you are going to head out in the world to find out about life, you're going to have to learn about the ways of the heart. Plus, we could only follow Navin around for so long until the premise wears thin. The introduction of Marie helps kick the movie into another gear and allow more opportunities for jokes. Peters and Martin also have good on-screen chemistry. I particularly love a scene on the beach where Marie gets to display her the musical gifts (I won't spoil the joke). Marie also helps give the movie a goal for Navin to achieve - making Marie fall in love with him and holding on to her. Otherwise, how do you conclude a movie like this?
Although the movie is set in "modern times" (the 1970s) it has a kind of depression era comedy feel to it. I mentioned "Easy Rider" but if we really want to stretch our imagination we could also mention Steinbeck's classic, "The Grapes of Wrath". Like so many other depression era comedies, "The Jerk" tells the story of a man looking for prosperity. He hits on a get rich quick scheme when he invents a device that prevents glasses from falling off your face. It allows the movie to comment on the distinction between "old money" and the nouveau riche. Pay attention to a funny scene where Navin and Marie go to a fancy restaurant and are horrified to discover snails are on Marie's plate! It is the kind of thing you would find in a Three Stooges comedy. If that's too old of a reference for you, try "Caddyshack" (1980). If that's still too old of a reference for you, we can't be friends!
And that's the thing about comedies like "The Jerk". Audiences may quickly dismiss these movies as having dumb characters who do dumb things. That's not fair! It isn't easy to write a movie like "The Jerk" or "Airplane" (1980) or "The Naked Gun" (1988), movies that hang on a string of jokes. It takes great skill to make movies like this. Do you really believe Steve Martin is like the character he plays here? Did you think Leslie Nielsen was a bad actor? "The Jerk" is a smart movie and in its own way is making commentaries.
In another sign of the movie's intelligence, did you know the name Navin means "young" or "fresh" in Sanskrit? That kind of describes our lead character - young and innocent. Extremely naive. Do you want to write this off as a happy accident or intentional? How much credit are you willing to give the creative people involved in this movie?
There are those that consider "The Jerk" one of the funniest movies of all-time. It made the American Film Institute's list of the funniest comedies ("100 Years...100 Laughs"), the British newspaper "The Guardian" singled it out as one of the 25 best comedies of all time, and in a Rolling Stones magazine reader's poll it was recognized as one of the 25 funniest comedies of all-time. For me, it's a step too far but I greatly admire what Steve Martin and Carl Reiner accomplished here.
For Martin and Reiner's next movie they would try to class things up a bit with a noir parody, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" (1982), artistically it is superior and features great cinematography but laughwise there's nothing quite like what you find here. Does that make me a jerk for saying that?
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