The Jerk (1979)

Introduction

The Jerk (1979) is one of the most iconic and influential American comedies of the late 20th century, launching Steve Martin from stand-up stardom to full-blown movie superstardom. Directed by veteran comedian and filmmaker Carl Reiner, The Jerk is an unapologetically absurd, slapstick-heavy, and irreverently satirical film that revels in its own silliness. It is a rags-to-riches-to-rags story that both embraces and ridicules classic American success narratives. What makes The Jerk enduringly special is its balance of total lunacy with surprisingly tender emotional beats—along with Martin’s fearless performance at its core.

Plot Summary

The film follows Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin), a white man adopted and raised by a poor Black family in Mississippi who is stunned to learn, on his birthday, that he is “not born a natural Black man.” After hearing a lounge song on the radio, he discovers he has rhythm and decides to leave home to seek his destiny in the big wide world.

Navin's journey from naive bumpkin to overnight millionaire to homeless derelict is one long string of comic misadventures. He finds work at a gas station, fends off a lunatic sniper, invents a device called the “Opti-Grab” (a nose-rest for eyeglasses) that makes him rich, and falls in love with the sweet ukulele-playing Marie (Bernadette Peters). But success turns out to be fleeting, as lawsuits over the Opti-Grab bankrupt him, sending him back to square one.

The film opens and closes with Navin in a homeless state, sharing his story with the audience in flashback—a deliberate riff on the traditional “rise and fall” arc, though filtered through a lens of absurdist comedy.

Themes and Tonal Analysis

Absurdity of the American Dream

Navin’s rags-to-riches tale parodies the traditional Horatio Alger narrative. His success is not the result of ingenuity or hard work, but pure accident (and bad taste). The film satirizes capitalist values by showing how ridiculous success can be and how easily it can be lost due to shallow consumerism, frivolous lawsuits, and blind trust.

Satire of Racial and Social Identity

The film opens with Navin believing he is Black, because his adoptive family is. This absurd premise is not played for mean-spirited laughs but rather for its sheer surrealism—highlighting Navin’s obliviousness and the notion that race, in his mind, is more nurture than nature. While this setup could be problematic in modern contexts, it’s presented with a surprising degree of innocence and without mocking Black identity itself.

Innocence as Comic Engine

Navin’s childlike, trusting nature is both his flaw and his charm. He moves through life with no understanding of nuance or deceit, which makes him both susceptible and hilarious. His sincerity, despite being misplaced, provides a grounding sweetness to the film’s otherwise anarchic tone.

Consumerism and Materialism

One of the film’s most quoted scenes—“I don’t need anything… except this lamp… and this ashtray... and this paddle game”—is a brilliant, offbeat commentary on the arbitrariness of material attachment. The film skewers the idea that wealth or possessions equate to happiness or meaning.

Steve Martin’s Performance

Martin’s portrayal of Navin is fearless. He commits wholly to the character’s utter naivete, channelling his background in stand-up and absurdist performance art. At times physically clownish and at others emotionally sincere, Martin delivers a career-making turn that blends slapstick, satire, and pathos.

He manages to make Navin idiotic but lovable, clueless but not cruel. It’s a hard balance to strike—particularly with a character who could easily veer into offensive caricature—but Martin plays him with warmth and wide-eyed optimism that renders him endearing, not grating.

This was Martin’s first leading film role, and it established the template for many of his later characters: the well-meaning eccentric navigating a world he doesn’t fully understand.

Supporting Cast

Bernadette Peters as Marie

Peters matches Martin’s oddball energy with a performance that is both funny and genuinely touching. Her chemistry with Martin is sincere, and their duet—“Tonight You Belong to Me”—is unexpectedly moving amid the silliness. She gives Marie a delicate sweetness that adds real emotional texture to the film.

M. Emmet Walsh as the Sniper

As the deranged shooter who randomly picks Navin’s name from a phone book, Walsh is hilariously deadpan. His absurd motive—“He hates these cans!”—is one of the film’s most famous gags and a prime example of the movie’s embrace of anti-logic.

Jackie Mason as Navin’s boss

In a small but memorable role, Mason plays the gas station owner who employs Navin. His back-and-forths with Martin show how even the minor characters contribute to the film’s tone of gentle lunacy.

Direction and Style

Carl Reiner directs with a steady hand, letting the gags breathe without overplaying them. He wisely allows Martin the space to improvise and builds the film around his star’s unique voice. Visually, the film is straightforward, but it cleverly blends the aesthetics of melodrama with comic disruption—turning scenes that should be romantic or tragic into something hilariously strange.

Reiner keeps the pace brisk, moving from vignette to vignette, each offering its own gag or absurd setup. The film doesn’t follow traditional narrative structure tightly, but it uses the rise-and-fall arc loosely enough to give shape to the chaos.

Memorable Scenes and Gags

“He Hates These Cans!” — A comic set piece that perfectly combines slapstick, misdirection, and escalating madness.

Navin’s Letter Home — Written to his adopted mother while working at the gas station, full of clueless optimism and innocent bragging.

The Invention of the Opti-Grab — A parody of the American inventor myth, with absurd consequences.

Navin’s Departure from Wealth — “I don’t need anything… except this.” A satire of material attachment that became one of the film’s most iconic moments.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

The Jerk was a commercial success, grossing over $70 million (a huge return on its modest budget) and instantly cemented Steve Martin as a major film star. Over time, it has grown into a cult classic, frequently appearing on lists of the best American comedies. Its absurdist humour influenced a generation of comedians and filmmakers, paving the way for comedies that broke traditional narrative and logical boundaries—like Anchorman, Napoleon Dynamite, and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.

Its absurdist tone and emotionally sincere centre foreshadowed the blending of slapstick and emotional warmth that became common in later comedies.

Criticisms and Modern Perspective

Plot Looseness: The episodic structure means the film feels more like a series of sketches than a cohesive story, which might frustrate viewers seeking narrative depth.

Dated Stereotypes: Some jokes, particularly around Navin’s obliviousness to race and class, may not play the same way to modern audiences and require viewing through the lens of 1970s satire.

Style Over Structure: The film is more concerned with gags than storytelling, so those looking for plot consistency may find it meandering.

Conclusion

The Jerk is a landmark of American absurdist comedy—an unhinged, lovable, and surprisingly sweet film that uses chaos and slapstick to deconstruct the American dream. Anchored by a fearless and endearing Steve Martin performance, it mocks everything from capitalism to identity with wild-eyed glee. Though some elements may feel dated, its comic spirit and emotional heart remain timeless.

This is not just a funny film—it’s a smart one, disguised as idiocy. The Jerk endures because it invites us to laugh not only at its ridiculous characters, but at the absurdities of the world we live in.