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    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1970s
    Movies - 1970s Movies - J 2 Mins Read

    Jerk, The (1979)

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    Adopting behaviour patterns reminiscent of Jerry Lewis in his heyday, comedian Steve Martin bulldozed his way through The Jerk, an uneven comedy whose hit-and-miss approach to the material nonetheless yielded more laughs than groans.

    Martin played Navin Johnson, the adopted son of black parents (Mabel King and Richard Ward) who, upon finally learning of his true parental situation  (“You mean, I’m gonna stay this colour?!”), leaves home with the family dog.

    He becomes a gas station attendant for Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason) and the driver of an amusement park train. It is the saga of how Navin copes with the outside world that forms the bulk of the screenplay (which Martin collaborated on with Carl Gottlieb and Martin Elias).

    The women in his life were played by Bernadette Peters and Caitlin Adams, but they took third place to the sight gags and off-the-cuff non-sequiturs which abound – and overall enjoyment of this film depends largely on whether or not you like the star to begin with.

    Navin Johnson/Cat Juggler
    Steve Martin
    Marie
    Bernadette Peters
    Patty Bernstein
    Catlin Adams
    Mother
    Mabel King
    Father
    Richard Ward
    Taj
    Dick Anthony Williams
    Stan Fox
    Bill Macy
    Madman
    M. Emmet Walsh
    Frosty
    Dick O’Neill
    Hobart
    Maurice Evans
    Hester
    Helena Carroll
    Elvira 
    Renn Woods
    Harry Hartounian
    Jackie Mason
    Father De Cordoba
    Domingo Ambriz

    Director
    Carl Reiner

    Video

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