The Jerk

The Jerk. 1979 Universal Pictures.
Starring: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Mabel King, Bill Macy, M. Emmet Walsh
Director: Carl Reiner
Buy The Jerk (26th Anniversary Edition) at Amazon.

Steve Martin, in his first starring role in a film, plays Navin Johnson, a homeless bum, who was the adopted white son of black sharecroppers, growing to adulthood oblivious of his own adoption, standing out in his family not only because of the color of his skin, but also because of his lack of rhythm. One night after hearing Lawrence Welk on the radio, he has an epiphany and hitchikes to St. Louis, where the song was broadcast from. Getting a job at a gas station, and sending a little money home to his adoptive family, Navin comes up with a fix for a fast-talking salesman whose eyeglasses keep slipping off his nose. The salesman thinks he can market the device, and promises Navin fifty percent of any profits.

Navin's simple fix turns out to bring him success beyond his wildest dreams, despite being randomly targeted for an assassination by a crazed gun owner (Walsh). He also falls in love with, and marries a cosmetologist named Marie (Peters). Unfortunately, Navin gets sued by buyers of the "Opti-Grab" device, including famous film director Carl Reiner, because it makes wearers crosseyed. Losing all of his money, and Marie, Navin wanders off to become a bum.

His adoptive family and Marie find him on the streets, and take him home, where they live happily ever after, the end.

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