An idiotic man struggles to make it through life on his own in St. Louis.
Director:
Carl Reiner
From metacritic.com
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Steve Martin | ... | Navin / Cat Juggler (as Pig Eye Jackson also) | |
| Bernadette Peters | ... | Marie | |
| Catlin Adams | ... | Patty Bernstein | |
| Mabel King | ... | Mother | |
| Richard Ward | ... | Father | |
| Dick Anthony Williams | ... | Taj | |
| Bill Macy | ... | Stan Fox | |
| M. Emmet Walsh | ... | Madman | |
| Dick O'Neill | ... | Frosty | |
| Maurice Evans | ... | Hobart | |
 |
Helena Carroll | ... | Hester |
| Renn Woods | ... | Elvira (as Ren Wood) | |
| Pepe Serna | ... | Punk #1 | |
|
|
Sonny Terry | ... | Blues Singer |
|
|
Brownie McGhee | ... | Blues Singer (as Brownie McGee) |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
See All (76) »
Storyline
Navin is an idiot. He grew up in Mississippi as 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 to St. Louis. There everyone exploits his naivety, but then a simple invention brings him a fortune. Written by Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>
Plot Keywords:
garter belt | slapstick comedy | fish out of water | eyeglasses | male nudity |Taglines:
From rags to riches... to rags. See more »Genres:
ComedyParents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
14 December 1979 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Easy Money See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$5,935,025, 16 December 1979, Limited ReleaseGross USA:
$73,691,419Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (Super 8-version in 2 parts)Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
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...
See more »
Sung by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (as Brownie McGee)
Words and Music by Leadbelly (as Huddie Ledbetter)
Collected and Adapted by John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Halliwell's states that the movie had "aspirations to be a modern Candide." See more »Goofs
When the first oil can is punctured by the sniper, a tube can be clearly seen inserted through the bullet hole. See more »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...
See more »
Crazy Credits
Pig Eye Jackson - Cat Juggler (Steve Martin) See more »Alternate Versions
The sniper shooting at Navin. His dialog is changed to remove some profanity on broadcast TV and standard cable TV showings of the movie. See more »Soundtracks
Pick A Bale Of CottonSung by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (as Brownie McGee)
Words and Music by Leadbelly (as Huddie Ledbetter)
Collected and Adapted by John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax
See more »
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I am 16 years old. Therefore, i was not even around when this movie was made. The one day, though, i was walking through the movie store, and i saw a sign that said 2 movies for ten dollars. So, with my dads advice, i bought this movie. I watched it, and couldn't stop laughing the whole way through. I realized that Steve Martin is the funniest man ever. Period. Second to none. This movie was the funniest movie I've ever seen, and it got me hooked on other Steve Martin movies. Since then, I seen Planes Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the Father of the Bride movies, and i can't get enough of him. I can only hope that he starts to act in more comedies, because i haven't seen him in any for a while. My rating for The Jerk is ten out of ten, two thumbs up, and five out of five stars. Thank you, Steve Martin.