The Jerk (1979)

This is one of Jack's all time favorites and I hadn't seen it until three weeks ago when we rented it on Amazon. It's a hilarious slapstick story of a simple-minded man, played by Steve Martin, told in flashback from being "a poor black child," who travels the country, works at various jobs, and gains and loses a fortune, falling in love along the way.

Martin was last blogged as an actor for The Big Year, and here he does a good job moving from the ridiculous to the sublime. He and Bernadette Peters (some of my favorites of her non-stage work are the TV-movie Once Upon a Mattress (1972), Silent Movie (1972), Pennies from Heaven (1981 - also starring and co-written by Martin), Alice (1990), six episodes of Smash, and 26 of Mozart in the Jungle) were an item when this was shot, and it shows, especially in one of my favorite scenes in which they sing a duet by the fire, inexplicably by the ocean, since they're supposed to be in St. Louis. Watch for appearances by Bill Macy from the series Maude and borscht belt comedian Jackie Mason.

Director Carl Reiner (I've seen less of his directing work than I thought--he has acted and written more--but he directed Martin in three other movies including the excellent All of Me (1984) and Bette Midler and Dennis Farina in That Old Feeling (1997)) makes a cameo as "Carl Reiner the Celebrity.

Co-writer Martin was staff writer for several variety shows including The Smothers Brothers (1967-69) and Sonny & Cher (1971-73); co-wrote ¡Three Amigos! (1986) and Roxanne (1987); wrote solo L.A. Story (1991), A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), Shopgirl (2005), and Bowfinger (1999) the first movie I ever watched on DVD. The other co-writers are Michael Elias (a few episodes of Pat Paulsen, Bill Cosby, New Dick Van Dyke Show, co-wrote the screenplay for Serial (1980)) and Carl Gottlieb (also wrote for the Smothers Brothers, and co-wrote Jaws (1975) and its sequel (1978)), who is in the cast as Iron Balls McGinty.

The Jerk really holds up after all these years, rated 84 and 85% by critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Jack loves to quote lines from it, especially, "This is all I need! And this...and this..." Apparently that bit was improvised.