Appearance

  • light/dark mode
powered by
moviedb

The Jerk

"A rags to riches to rags story."

1979-12-14 Comedy 1hr 34m

After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.

More
Trailer
Amazon Video

Watch on Amazon Video

close
The Jerk
Amazon Video

Watch on Amazon Video

Storyline

After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.

  • Released
    1979-12-14
  • Revenue
    $100,000,000
  • Budget
    $4,000,000
  • Runtime
    1hr 34m
  • Genre
    Comedy
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    7.1
  • Production
    Universal Pictures, Aspen Film Society

Crew

Carl Reiner
Director
Steve Martin
Screenplay
David V. Picker
Producer

Stream and watch The Jerk

similar movies

The Human Implant

The Human Implant

Pardon Mon Affaire

Pardon Mon Affaire

MICerz

MICerz

Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road

Mary and Max

Mary and Max

Take Me to Tarzana

Take Me to Tarzana

2nd Serve

2nd Serve

Christmas Staycation

Christmas Staycation

The Empire Strikes Door

The Empire Strikes Door

Bing Hitler - Live at the Glasgow Pavilion

Bing Hitler - Live at the Glasgow Pavilion

Tiny Dancers

Tiny Dancers

Hotelliggaren

Hotelliggaren

In Old Missouri

In Old Missouri

Hulk Hands

Hulk Hands

Elfing Around

Elfing Around

META

META

The Volly

The Volly

A Boring Couple Conversation

A Boring Couple Conversation

Challengers

Challengers

Mudbound

Mudbound

Cast

Steve Martin

Steve Martin

Navin R. Johnson
Bernadette Peters

Bernadette Peters

Marie Kimble Johnson
Catlin Adams

Catlin Adams

Patty Bernstein
Carl Gottlieb

Carl Gottlieb

Iron Balls McGinty
Bill Macy

Bill Macy

Stan Fox
Pepe Serna

Pepe Serna

Punk #1
Sonny Terry

Sonny Terry

Blues Singer
Brownie McGhee

Brownie McGhee

Blues Singer
Jackie Mason

Jackie Mason

Harry Hartounian
Larry Hankin

Larry Hankin

Circus Hand (uncredited)
Howard Hesseman

Howard Hesseman

Carnival Worker (uncredited)
Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner

Truck Driver Picking Up Navin (uncredited)
Gailard Sartain

Gailard Sartain

Guy with Cracked Airplane Seats (uncredited)
William Schallert

William Schallert

Judge M.A. Loring

Videos and Photos

The Jerk
The Jerk
The Jerk
The Jerk
The Jerk
The Jerk
The Jerk

Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Jerk
reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 7

Written by Wuchak on 2019-02-25

***Steve Martin’s breakout comedy*** A homeless mentally-challenged man (Steve Martin) shares his amusing tale of rags-to-riches-to-hobo ... read more

***Steve Martin’s breakout comedy*** A homeless mentally-challenged man (Steve Martin) shares his amusing tale of rags-to-riches-to-hobo with flashbacks. Catlin Adams plays a stunt rider at a carnival who has the hots for Navin (Martin) while Bernadette Peters plays a more important woman in his life. “The Jerk” (1979) has several laugh-out-loud scenes like the eventual confrontation between Patty (Catlin) and Marie (Peters), but there are also some flat, overlong parts, like when Navin departs the mansion in the last act. “Forrest Gump” (1994) was obviously inspired by “The Jerk” and made a more serious, popular picture. Jim Carrey also took a lot of inspiration from Martin and “The Jerk” to forge the even funnier “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” (1994). The movie runs 1 hour, 34 minutes and was shot in the Los Angeles area. GRADE: B

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by Wuchak

***Steve Martin’s breakout comedy*** A homeless mentally-challenged man (Steve Martin) shares his amusing tale of rags-to-riches-to-hobo with flashbacks. Catlin Adams plays a stunt rider at a carnival who has the hots for Navin (Martin) ...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 7

Written by Wuchak on 2019-02-25

***Steve Martin’s breakout comedy*** A homeless mentally-challenged man (Steve Martin) shares his amusing tale of rags-to-riches-to-hobo with flashbacks. Catlin Adams plays a stunt rider at a carni...

read more