The Jerk
The Jerk is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Martin and Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also features Bernadette Peters, M. Emmet Walsh, Catlin Adams, Maurice Evans, and Jackie Mason. Critical reviews were mostly positive, and The Jerk was a major financial success.
Plot
Navin Johnson, a homeless person sleeping in a stairwell in Los Angeles, addresses the camera directly to tell his life story.
Cast
- Bernadette Peters
- Bill Macy
- Carl Gottlieb
- Carl Reiner
- Catlin Adams
- David Landsberg
- Dick Anthony Williams
- Dick O'Neill
- Frances E. Williams
- Helena Carroll
- Jackie Mason
- Lenny Montana
- M. Emmet Walsh
- Mabel King
- Maurice Evans
- Maurice Marsac
- Pepe Serna
- Renn Woods
- Richard Foronjy
- Richard Ward
- Rob Reiner
- Steve Martin
- Trinidad Silva
- William Schallert
More details
| author | Carl Gottlieb Steve Martin |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Mississippi |
| director | Carl Reiner |
| editor | Bud Molin Ron Spang |
| genre | adventure comedy |
| keywords | adopted son brand champagne-style song class action cosmetologist cosmetology daredevil motorcyclist folk song gas station attendant homeless person invest lawrence welk life story los angeles meet miniature railway motorcycle stunt riding new house pick a bale of cotton private investigator ridable miniature railway sharecropper sharecropping sleep spirited folk songs st. louis travel wake warn |
| musicBy | Jack Elliott |
| producer | David V. Picker William E. McEuen |
| productionCompany | Aspen Film Society |
| publisher | Universal Pictures |
| theme | screwball comedy |