DVD REVIEW: THE JERK
DVD/BLU RAY REVIEW: THE JERK
Shock Entertainment, March 2017
Directed by Carl Reiner
Starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10
This story of Navin, a man unburdened by the weight of intelligence, who has grown up dirt poor in Mississippi as the (unwittingly, even though he is white) adopted son of a black family of sharecroppers, was released in 1979, and was Steve Martin’s first film after forging a stand-up and TV comic career.
Re-released and given a shiny coat of polish by Shock Entertainment, it may be a little dated in parts (Martin’s over-acting as he plays a drunken bum is a bit embarrassing, and more suited to stand-up than film, in truth), but its fish out of water trope is made especially funny when the fish is imbecilic, and The Jerk is still frequently hilarious.
The impossibly beautiful Bernadette Peters plays Navin’s main love interest, and and they are ably supported by a succession of wacky characters, from his adoptive parents through to Shithead the dog. Well worth revisiting.
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Category: Movie & Theatre Reviews