The film, The Jerk, was released in 1979 and made $73,691,419 according to the Box Office statistics. The film has an “R” rating and a runtime of 1 hour and 34 minutes (The Jerk (1979) - Box Office Mojo). This film is about a homeless man named Navin Johnson (Steve Martin) who was adopted by an African American family and goes throughout his life with an unworldly view. Johnson is extremely naïve, but decides to see what he has been missing. On his journey, he gets a job at a gas station and makes his uniqueness known when he is able to fix a pair of eyeglasses for a salesperson and the salesperson thinks the invention is genius. He promises Johnson he will receive 50% of any profits made. Johnson moves on from the gas station and gets a job with the carnival as a weight guesser. During his time there, he loses his virginity, falls in love and gets married to a woman named Maria. Eventually, the salesperson is able to track Johnson down and he starts receiving checks from the eyeglasses invention. Johnson lives a luxurious lifestyle until he is sued and loses everything, including his wife. Johnson becomes homeless after losing everything and he is found by his family on skid row (Synopsis for The Jerk).
The film received several reviews from critics, some good and some not. Well-known critic, Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5/5 stars. Ebert was not entertained and stated the film was not amusing. He discussed two different types of comedic approaches, “I'll call them the Funny Hat and the Funny Logic approaches. The difference is elementary: In the first, we're supposed to laugh because the comic is wearing the funny hat, and in the second it's funny because of his reasons for wearing the funny hat” (Ebert). Clearly, Ebert prefers the Funny Logic approach and does not believe the film, The Jerk, possessed his preferred type of funny. Not only was he not impressed with the comedy, he was not impressed with Steve Martin’s character, either. He stated, “Well, if you're going to play a jerk, play one as if you think you are one, or you might wind up looking like a jerk” (Ebert). Although Ebert did not particularly enjoy the film, it did receive an 84% on the Rotten Tomatoes website for movie critics, which many filmgoers base the quality of the movie on. Janet Maslin from the New York Times reviewed the film with the comment, “The laughs aren't steady, but they're persistent, and the film moves fast enough to compensate for its unevenness” (The Jerk - 1979). Another critic, Christopher Null, from Filmcritic.com, stated, “Martin's one-liners are pretty funny, very dry, and awfully quotable” (The Jerk - 1979). Simon Miraudo, from Quickflix, stated, “An oddball odyssey so strange, filled with non-sequiturs so funny, and decorated by a romance so sweet, it was an inevitable star-maker” (The Jerk - 1979). Lastly, Mark Bourne, from DVDJournal.com, stated, “The whole thing is uneven and slight, but the highlight moments guilty-pleasure us with the sort of stupid-funny that's 'LOL' quotable afterward” (The Jerk - 1979).
Most critics found the film to be laughable, but not extremely funny. The film seems to be an average approach to being comedic for most critics. As Ebert mentioned, the film has a certain type of funny and only some find it to be amusing. Steve’s Martin’s character is stated to be somewhat “dry” and not necessarily consistent with keeping the audience chuckling. The film did receive a decent rating from Rotten Tomatoes, which is notable, and the film grossed quite a bit of money. Despite some of the mediocre ratings and reviews, many individuals enjoyed this film and were humored by Martin’s character and his naïve approach to life. Most found Martin’s lines in the film to be “quotable” and memorable. Although the film is not as funny as some other comedies, it does entertain most of the viewers and gives them various laughs here and there.
Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. "The Jerk Movie Review & Film Summary (1979) | Roger Ebert." Roger Ebert Reviews.
Ebert Digital LLC, 1 June 1979. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-jerk-1979>.
"Synopsis for The Jerk." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
"The Jerk (1979)." Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jerk/>.
"The Jerk (1979) - Box Office Mojo." Box Office Mojo. IMDb.com, Inc. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=jerk.htm>.
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