"The Jerk" is one of the best comedies to come out of Hollywood. True, this is my opinion. However, the American Film Institute agrees and they are paid to have good taste in movies. "The Jerk," released in 1979 and directed by Carl Reiner, was Steve Martin's first starring film role. He plays Navin Johnson, who "was born a poor black child." That's just the beginning of this hilarious fish out of water story. Navin is a adopted by a black family and when he get older he decides that it's time to leave and go out on his own. This leads him to a gas station job which soon leads to him inventing a device to keep eye glasses from falling off. Of course this makes him extremely wealthy and he starts living in the lap of luxury. Obviously that doesn't last long, because that would not be very funny. Somewhere in between he falls in love with Marie Johnson, played by Bernadette Peters. Back in 1979, Steve Martin, already completely gray at this time, because he might have been born like that, was actually funny. Then three decades pass and he does ridiculously horrible movies that aren't even worth mentioning, but I know that you know what they are. He was perfect as Navin Johnson and had some chemistry with Bernadette Peters. Carl Reiner, himself also shows up for a hilarious cameo. Overall, the movie is just very funny, with a great lead performance by Steve Martin and a solid script. Whether you like it or not this movie is a classic and will not be forgotten.
-Joseph Sbrilli
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