The Jerk

19791979
RR
1h 34min

The Jerk (1979)

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A simpleminded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy.A simpleminded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy.A simpleminded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy.

Director
- Carl Reiner
Writers
- Steve Martin(screenplay)
- Carl Gottlieb(screenplay)
- Michael Elias(screenplay)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination

Videos2

Official Trailer

Official Trailer

The Jerk

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin, Mabel King, and Renn Woods in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin, Mabel King, Richard Ward, and Frances E. Williams in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin and Bill Macy in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin and Catlin Adams in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin and Bill Macy in The Jerk (1979)

Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979)

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2.7

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Navin is an idiot. He grew up in Mississippi as the adopted son of a black family, but on his 18th birthday he feels he wants to discover the rest of the world and sets out for St. Louis. There everyone exploits his naivete, until a simple invention brings him a fortune. —Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>

fish out of water eyeglasses mississippi told in flashback cat juggling 108 more

Taglines
- From rags to riches... to rags.
Genre
- Comedy
Certificate
- R
Parents guide

Trivia
Stanley Kubrick was a big admirer of this film. He would often recite lines from the film to cast and crew on his films and he once invited Steve Martin over so they could play chess.

Goofs
When the family is sitting around the table for Navin's (Steve Martin) birthday, they congratulate him and his brother says "That's great, Steve!"

Quotes
Navin R. Johnson: Well I'm gonna to go then! And I don't need any of this. I don't need this stuff, and I don't need *you*. I don't need anything. Except this.
[picks up an ashtray]
Navin R. Johnson: And that's the only thing I need is *this*. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray... And this paddle game. - The ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need... And this remote control. - The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need... And these matches. - The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control, and the paddle ball... And this lamp. - The ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that's all *I* need. And that's *all* I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one... I need this. - The paddle game and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches for sure. Well what are you looking at? What do you think I'm some kind of a jerk or something! - And this. That's all I need.
[walking outside]
Navin R. Johnson: The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, and this magazine, and the chair.
Navin R. Johnson: [outside now] And I don't need one other thing, except my dog.
[Shithead growls at him]
Navin R. Johnson: I don't need my dog.

Crazy credits
Pig Eye Jackson - Cat Juggler (Steve Martin)

Alternate versions
A version of "The Jerk" shown on cable's Turner Network Television contained alternate footage. Besides changing the name of Navin's dog to "Stupid" from "Shithead," genuine alternate footage was contained; in one previously-unseen scene, Navin is so broken-up over the loss of Marie that he "just had to spin." The carnies remove him from the ride by force, and he tries to explain to them what emotions are. The "charity" montage also differs: before the cat-juggling sequence, Navin meets a professor-type who insults him and shows him some apparently unpleasant pictures, and a Texan millionaire who cries over small cracks on the seat of his airplane; he pays both, of course. In this version there is no "Iron-Balls McGinty" sequence.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: The Jerk/Kramer vs. Kramer/Star Trek/Mr. Mike's Mondo Video/Sleeping Beauty (1979)

Soundtracks
Tonight You Belong To Me
Sung by Bernadette Peters and Steve Martin
Music by Lee David
Lyric by Billy Rose

Top review

Steve Martin Carries the Film to the Top

Steve Martin's out-of-this-world performance is the main calling card of this hilarious comedy. Martin stars as a moron who has been raised by a poor African-American family. One night after hearing some music on the radio, he decides that it is time for him to go find his place in the world. What follows is a poor man's "Forrest Gump". Martin gets into some odd situations and goes from the bottom of the social ladder, to the top, and then to the bottom again. This is a flat-out comedy that is a laugh-a-minute romp. 4 stars out of 5.

helpful•46

14

tfrizzell
Apr 13, 2001

Release date
- December 14, 1979 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Language
- English
Also known as
- Easy Money
Filming locations
- Beverly House - 1011 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA
Production companies
- Universal Pictures
- Aspen Film Society
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Gross US & Canada
- $73,691,419
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,935,025
- Dec 16, 1979
Gross worldwide
- $73,691,419

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 34min
Sound mix
- Mono
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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The Jerk (1979)

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