Steve Martin's first feature film role was the huge 1979 box office hit THE JERK.
Martin stars as Navin Johnson, who discovers on his birthday that he is NOT actually the son a a poor black sharecropper, but was actually left on the doorstep of his loving family.
The films early scenes, as Navin faces the shocking news of his adoption ("You mean I am going to stay this color mama!?) and hits the road to carve out a life of his own are pretty hilarious.
Martin manages to make this incredibly stupid character loveable, not an easy thing to do when you have a character this damn dumb!
Martin becomes the world's most dedicated gas station employee ("He hates those cans!!"), a weight guesser in a Carnival and eventually a very rich inventor.
As you might expect, it's less about the story and more about the laughs. With Martin starring and as co-writer of the film, with Carl Reiner directing, the laughs are frequent and consistent.
Catlin Adams is hilarious as Patty Bernstein, the world's toughest carnival stunt rider, Bernadette Peters is fun as Navin's first true love, Marie and Jackie Mason has fun as Navin's first employer.
Martin was filling stadiums as a standup comic when this movie exploded in theatres and his film career and stardom never looked back.
Watch for Martin also starring as a Cat Juggler named Pig Eye Jackson. That should tell you everything you need to know about this self proclaimed Rags to Riches to Rags story, which also features a charming ukelele/trumpet and singing duet by Peters and Martin.
The Jerk is still funny after all these years and gets a laugh out loud B.
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