(You'll probably see a lot of Steve Martin stuff from me in the coming weeks)

This was a first time, clearly decades overdue watch, a piece of influential comic genius if there ever was one. You can see The Jerk's prints all over everything from Will Ferrell movies to Adam Sandler to Pee Wee Herman Tom Green in it's manchild vulgarity, and at the same time it's also very much like a live-action Muppet Movie, with Martin playing to me, a (before they made him more intelligent in the early 90s) Great Gonzo-ish role - loud, sweet and weird. There are few movies more in line with what makes me smile and with how I behave in private.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to see about buying someone a thermos.

A hilarious, touching, and kinda inspiring story of Steve Martin born as a poor black child growing into a rich but clueless black man. Showcases Steve Martin at his very best.

This movie has a 'special purpose'.

Pretty Jerky. Holds up to age. Surprisingly subtle. Great opening and closing. Doesn't go as big as The Naked Gun and is better for it.

(You'll probably see a lot of Steve Martin stuff from me in the coming weeks)

This was a first time, clearly decades overdue watch, a piece of influential comic genius if there ever was one. You can see The Jerk's prints all over everything from Will Ferrell movies to Adam Sandler to Pee Wee Herman Tom Green in it's manchild vulgarity, and at the same time it's also very much like a live-action Muppet Movie, with Martin playing to me, a (before they made him more intelligent in the early 90s) Great Gonzo-ish role - loud, sweet and weird. There are few movies more in line with what makes me smile and with how I behave in private.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to see about buying someone a thermos.

"I was born a poor black child..."

The writing here is amazing, but The Jerk's one fatal flaw, the thing that prevents it from being one of the greatest comedy movies ever made, is that it relies too much on repetition. Still, Steve Martin is very funny, and there's no way you'll see most of it coming the first time.

Not as funny as it was when I was a kid but still pretty brilliant at times. Steve Martin plays the often times hilarious occasionally annoying "jerk". The film basically just follows him as he goes from rags to riches and back to rags. There are many funny moments along the way such as the classic murder attempt by M. Emmet Walsh.

Some of it feels dated for sure but it's still entertaining and better than your average comedy.

A review of The Jerk: You know that scene in Freaks and Geeks when Sam Weir brings that cheerleader to see The Jerk and when he sees she's not laughing he finally starts to realize she's not the right girl for him? Using The Jerk for that scene is one of the things that made that show so great.

Steve Martin stars as an inconsistently smart man who has possibly gone full retard, in a coming of age adventure that leads to both sexual awakening and wealth appropriation. It’s kind of like Forrest Gump without the pretention.

His adventure contains a series of inspired skits and is unrelenting in its gag quotient. It is hard to comprehend where exactly the narrative will lead. The downfall is particularly inspired as the cross eyed people are somehow simultaneously revealed.

Ultimately the film is a little shapeless with some sequences feeling as if they are orphaned skits. A finale with slightly higher stakes that combined call backs to earlier moments in the film would have been preferable.

The Reverence: A hitman with a phonebook obsession beats out the discovery of a special purpose, a German hat, dogs at both ends, a cool car, a kung fu sequence and the merry freeze frame at the end.

This came highly recommended by a number of my friends... Seems that, without the hazy glow of nostalgia, they may see it in a different light! I didn't laugh once. Steve Martin is just rubbish.... I'd like to give it zero for wastin my time but I can't unfortunately

Steve Martin at his best is the jerk. In this he plays a man who was "Born a poor black child" and grows up to be a jerk that lives an impossibly funny life where he earns and loses a fortune and the love of his life.

I don't want to give away a single joke beyond the quote above because it is all too priceless and so much funnier when you don't know what will happen to him next. If you have seen this you know just how awesome this much fun this classic is. If you haven't then you are missing out and you need to see it. You will only regret how long it took you to see it.

Enjoy.

Silly, weird, surreal... and I loved every minute of it.