Tonight, I know you belong to me.
Tonight, I know you belong to me.

 

Sometimes I find myself afraid of comedies. Perhaps I’ve been caught too often in gags that run for way too long, or punch lines that aim at the lowest hanging fruit. I wasn’t always this way – I used to laugh my ass off at POLICE ACADEMY…or better yet, POLICE ACADEMY3!

So perhaps it was time to remember where I came from – remember the guy who used to love SCTV and Royal Canadian Air Farce.

I do believe it was time for me to finally hang out with THE JERK.

“The Jerk” in question is Steve Martin as Navin R. Johnson, a simpleton who is raised by adopted parents after being left on their doorstep. When he finally comes to understand the truth about his past, he sees it as a prompt to chase down his future, and so he strikes out on his own. It’s then that he gets a job in a gas station, and happens to suggest a million dollar idea to one of his customers. Before he can cash in, he goes off to work in a travelling carnival. It’s there that he meets Marie (Bernadette Peters) who takes a shining to him despite – or perhaps because of – his simple nature.

Not long after Navin and Marie get together, his million dollar idea bears fruit and allows the most unlikely millionaires since The Beverly Hillbillies to stake their claim.

 

Steve Martin in The Jerk

 

THE JERK had me wondering about all of the loveable dummies that count as descendants of Steve Martin. Think about it – if this film were made in a different year, it’s not that hard to imagine Jim Carrey playing this character, or Vince Vaughan, or Will Ferrell, or Zach Galifianakis.

However, when I watch Martin in this movie, I feel as though he has an innocence about him that many comedians nowadays lack (including Martin himself). There’s no self-awareness happening, nothing mean-spirited. You might not believe that Navin is as dim as Martin plays him, but you never feel like he’s making fun of the people in the world who are.

You see why his adopted family would worry so much about him, why Jackie Mason would give him a job, and why Bernadette Peters would give him the time of day. There’s something wholesome about him, something that wants to make people proud and make something of himself. What’s more, his spastic moments seem more contained than any of those actors I named earlier. His overenthusiasm is just this side of stupid, and despite true temptation, he never crosses the line. He lets his limbs flail in ways that suggest pure panic…but never follows it with actually screaming in panic.

They don’t make ’em like that anymore.

 

The New Phonebooks are Here

 

There’s another detail that makes this film stand apart from its contemporaries, and it’s one of the most famous moments in the movie: “Tonight, I Know You Belong To Me”.

It’s something that’s unabashedly sweet, so much so that it almost brings a tear to the eye. All of that idiocy we’ve been watching for forty-five minutes is forgotten, and we watch two charming performers make beautiful music together. The idiocy will resume in a mere three minutes, but in this moment it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter because we’re stuck thinking about the most perfect moment we’ve always wanted with the most perfect person. We’re reminded of the people who got us mixed-up in our own words, who gave us hints we didn’t catch, and looked at us in ways nobody else did. We think about them, and how for just a second they might be able to compliment us so perfectly…and just as soon as we’ve thought about it, we see it play out on-screen.

It’s sweet, it’s romantic, it’s harmonious. It is without a single trace of irony. It pushes all of the lunacy we’ve witnessed aside for a moment and gives us something purely romantic…right before dropping us back into the lunacy.

 

Bernadette Peters in The Jerk

 

It’s worth noting that it’s been a long time since I covered a straight-up comedy in this series. When I think about why that is, I think part of it comes down to the fact that I was raised on comedies so a lot of the classics have been covered by now. Beyond that though, I think a lot of it comes back to hearing about how a film is so funny from so many people, that it can be hard for it to live up. It’s not the film’s fault of course, nor the fault of those that love it. It’s just one of those things that builds over time and sets something up to be a letdown.

The funny thing is that nowadays that letdown can come a lot faster. A laugh riot is released on Christmas Day and everybody keeps talking it up. If you haven’t joined the party by New Year’s Day, odds are you’ll be scratching your head and wondering what the rest of the crowd is laughing at.

Happily, THE JERK didn’t fall into that chasm of bewilderment for me. Sure there was an eye-rolling moment or two, but far more often there were laughs, smiles, and feelings of genuine warmth. I watched as Martin threw his whole self into goofing off without any shred of self-awareness, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in the giddiness of it all.

In the end, watching THE JERK was like watching Ted Williams hit as a little leaguer pure joy.

 

I usually post Blind Spot entries on the final Tuesday of every month. If you are participating, drop me an email (ryanatthematineedotca) when your post is up and I’ll make sure to link to your entry.
Here’s the round-up for March so far…

 

Becca watched LA DOLCE VITA

Luke watched UGETSU

Beatrice watched THE AFRICAN QUEEN

Keisha watched CINEMA PARADISO

Courtney watched 3 IDIOTS

Josh watched SAFETY LAST

Dan watched DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID

Dell watched MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE

Jordan watched THE GRANDE ILLUSION

Katie watched TOUCH OF EVIL

Anna watched CHINATOWN

Fisti watched THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY?

Jenna & Allie watched PULP FICTION

Ruth watched WINGS

Katy watched BEFORE SUNSET

John Hitchcock watched KILL BILL vol’s 1 & 2

Andina watched LOLITA

Jay watched A HARD DAY’S NIGHT

Mette watched THE GENERAL

Chris watched THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS

James watched TROIS COULEURS: BLEU

Brittani watched THE ELEPHANT MAN

Paskalis watched TAXI DRIVER

Sean Kelly watched CHARIOTS OF FIRE

Kevin watched BONNIE & CLYDE

Steven watched ALPHAVILLE

New participants! Maria & Grace watched CLEO FROM 5 TO 7

11 Replies to “Blindsided by THE JERK

  1. “I got rhythm!”

    Glad you enjoyed this one. I remember watching this several times when I was young and laughing my ass off. What you said about comedies being built up so much they can’t possibly live up to expectations is so true. At least this one didn’t disappoint.

    1. I actually made myself a note to look into what song/band it is that he finds his rhythm to, since it gave me such a fit of the giggles. Totally forgot about including it in this post!

      It’s really tough – that’s why I find lists of comedies to be such a set-up for disaster. Nothing makes something instantly less-funny than telling someone else how funny it is.

  2. This film, despite not being all that…groundbreaking…features one hilarious performance from Martin…just loved him in this! You’re so right about the innocence he brings to the role. It certainly helps make him so much more sympathetic and not merely pathetic.

    1. Right? I was actually hard-pressed to think of someone modern I could cast in this story that wouldn’t make it eye-rolling or abrasive.

      Martin really hits a sweet spot.

  3. There’s nothing wrong with the Police Academy movies (except for the one in Russia). I wasn’t high on this film but I still think it’s hilarious and one of Steve Martin’s finest films.

    1. They’re alright – they’re much more in the vein of screwball comedies that dotted the early eighties…and those can feel a little dated thirty years on.

  4. I haven’t seen The Jerk, but I know what you mean about comedians around at the moment. I do love Steve Martin though, love watching his ‘old’ films, Roxanne and Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid are never far from my DVD player.

  5. I think there aren’t much innocence in movies these days. Everybody even the kids are now thinking like adult. So sometimes that what makes me watching classic films or ’80s or ’90s at least.

    I haven’t seen this one. But Steve Martin is loveable indeed.

    1. I am WAY overdue responding to this comment! Please forgive my tardiness.

      It’s funny that you mention how the kids are acting like adults, since I think it’s the inverse that’s most true: all of our adults are acting like children. Since so much in the world has allowed western civilization to stay so comfortable for so long, our adults are acting like kids…they dress down, they play with toys, they act entitled when they don’t get what they want.

      That’s the funny thing; 30 years ago, we’d look at an movie like THE JERK and say to ourselves “What an asshole…”. Now we say “Seems legit”.

  6. Saw The Jerk in July and enjoyed it. American humor often doesn’t do it for me, and for a change a comedy actually had me smiling and laughing. Agree it does have an innocence and warmth to it that’s missing in many of today’s comedies. It reminded me a little of Forrest Gump.

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