The Jerk (1979)

Director:

Carl Reiner

Writers:

Steve Martin (story) &
Carl Gottlieb (story) ...

Release Date:

14 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

From rags to riches... to rags.

Plot:

A complete imbecile struggles to make it through life on his own, until a strange invention makes him unbelievably wealthy.

Plot Keywords:

Dancing | Gas Station | Cult Favorite | Riches To Rags | Grab Ass

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Navin R. Johnson / Cat Juggler / Pig Eye Jackson / Engineer Fred (also as Pig Eye Jackson)
Bernadette Peters	...	Marie Kimble Johnson
Catlin Adams	...	Patty Bernstein
Mabel King	...	Mother
Richard Ward	...	Father
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Taj Jonson
Bill Macy	...	Stan Fox
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Madman
Dick O'Neill	...	Frosty
Maurice Evans	...	Hobart
Helena Carroll	...	Hester
Ren Woods	...	Elvira Jonson (as Ren Wood)
Pepe Serna	...	Punk #1 in Blue Chevy
Sonny Terry	...	Blues Singer
Brownie McGhee	...	Blues Singer (as Brownie McGee)

Also Known As:

Easy Money (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1980) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Devonshire Downs - Devonshire Street at Zelzah Avenue, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Aspen Film Society

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the new phone books arrive, Navin finds his name on a right-hand page in the phone book. However, when the madman randomly chooses a name to be his victim, he points to Navin's name on a left-hand page.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Navin R. Johnson: Huh? I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The West Wing: Drought Conditions (#6.16)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Pick A Bale Of Cotton

Lord loves a workin' man; don't trust whitey; see a doctor and get rid of it.

Why is the rating for "The Jerk" so low? Every comment said that this movie was hilarious! Hey, anyone out there who gave "The Jerk" a low rating, come write a comment! I don't even know what's not to like about this movie. The script is extremely funny. The naive, ambitious Navin Johnson is the role that Steve Martin was born to play. This is one of the funniest movies ever (any fans of my comments know that I say that often, but I really mean it!).

P.S. If you're a worried parent wondering if this movie is okay for your child to see, let him / her see it. It's actually pretty tame. I couldn't tell what made it an R-rated movie.