The Jerk

"A rags to riches to rags story."

1979 1h 34m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 937

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“A rags to riches to rags story.”

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Cast

Steve Martin
Navin R. Johnson
Bernadette Peters
Marie Kimble Johnson
Catlin Adams
Patty Bernstein
Mabel King
Mother
Richard Ward
Father
Carl Gottlieb
Iron Balls McGinty
Dick Anthony Williams
Taj
Bill Macy
Stan Fox

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Carl Reiner
Writers: Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, Michael Elias
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $100M — a 25.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Jerk Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Carl Reiner, shot by Victor J. Kemper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jack Elliott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bud Molin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters and Catlin Adams carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Carl Reiner directs. Victor J. Kemper behind the camera. Jack Elliott scores. Bud Molin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $100M — a 25.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
347 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "The Jerk Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Carl Reiner, shot by Victor J. Kemper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Jack Elliott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Bud Molin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters and Catlin Adams carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A rags to riches to rags story.".
10IMDB entry: tt0079367 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Victor J. Kemper
Original score: Jack Elliott
Editing: Bud Molin
Production design: Jack T. Collis
Costume design: Theadora Van Runkle
Stunt coordinator: Conrad E. Palmisano
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Box office: $100,000,000
Return: 2500% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Jerk (1979)

Part of

The Jerk Collection

The Jerk (1979) follows naive Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) as he leaves his poor Black family, becomes a millionaire with the "Opti-Grab" invention (which makes people cross-eyed), loses it all, and finds true happiness back with his family and love, Marie, embracing his simple roots and gaining rhythm, while its sequel, The Jerk, Too (1984), sees Navin trying to go straight but getting pulled into a Las Vegas casino heist.

Also by

Carl Reiner

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2019-02-25
★ 7/10
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

Production companies