The Jerk

One of Steve Martin's funniest films, The Jerk was far ahead of its time it was part of a genre of off-the-wall, ridiculous comedies that dominate the box office throughout the 90s. In The Jerk unfortunate events happen to the outcast reject, and the audience laughs. It's just an extension of the old Charlie Chaplin or Three Stooges genre of film. But The Jerk is definitely a funny movie. Navin Johnson played by Steve Martin is a kind and well grounded man. Born in Mississippi, Navin is adopted into a black family, but he remains clueless in regards to his origins. When Navin turns eighteen, he decides to strike out on his own; which takes the entire day since he decides to hitchhike and hours pass before the first car drives by. Navin finally gets a job at a service station where owner Harry Hartounian played by Jackie Mason.
Eventually, Navin moves on to work for a carnival where he meets his future wife Marie played by Bernadette Peters. Navin and Marie are in for the ride of a lifetime when a salesman passing through Navin's old service station turns one of Navin's inventions into a product. The royalties make Navin a multimillionaire, but money cannot buy everything, and Navin and Marie must work together to be happy.
Some of the scenes from The Jerk, such as when Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters are  lying in bed, and Martin says "It feels like I've know you forever..." (and then he continues with his endless monologue) can stand alone in making The Jerk worth any viewer's time. It's funny when Navin gets "published" in the phone book only to have a killer randomly select him for death. The Jerk has its high points, and I recommend watching it once just to see if it's your cup of tea. With a number of unforgettable scenes, The Jerk is a well written; from a comics point of view, screenplay which keeps the people laughing. Steve Martin is brilliant in his description of innocent Navin Johnson. The character's endless quest to please makes him an instantly likeable character that the film viewers would want to root for. The Jerk is a must-see film. If you haven't seen, then you don't know what you're missing.