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Steve Martin’s sense of humor comes from his affection for the absurd. Surrealistic to the point of silliness, “The Jerk” captured the atmosphere of comedy perfectly in the 70’s. Before Robin Williams broke through to a larger audience on the big and little screen, Steve Martin was THE JERK. As dense as a brick, Martin doesn’t so much as act like a jerk as become one. Opening like a variation on all those Hollywood tales where the hero of our story is down on his luck but soon to be redeemed (of course, this IS a comedy so it’s unlikely he’ll get the redemption we expect becaus, well, that wouldn’t be funny). ***

As Navin Johnson (Martin) mentions at the beginning that he was “born a poor black child”. Adopted by a poor African-American family living in poverty, Navin is horrified to discover that not only is he adopted but he’s always going to be Caucasian and have absolutely no rhythm. Navin discovers he does have rhythm after all (“praise the Lord!”) when he listens to a radio playing dance music from the time. Navin eats his Twinkies, learns the difference between shit and Shinola and hits the road hoping to be rich. Armed with the advice his family gives him (“God bless the working man…and remember never trust whitey!”). He hitchhikes getting his first ride which takes him to the end of a fence getting about twenty feet away from home. Needless to say, life is more than an adventure for Nathan and hi dog Shithead; it’s a vocation.

In addition to the original production notes from the previous edition and theatrical trailer we also get footage cut from the film within a film and an extra that teaches you to play the ukulele; “The Lost Filmstrips of Father Carlos Las Vegas De Cordova” and “Learn How To Play ‘Tonight You Belong to Me’”. The former is a “continuation” of the film within a film where we see Martin play various characters doing things like verbally abusing a plant, dressing a bulldog in a clown suit as the audience cheers and takes pets in a bizarre parody of cock fighting. It’s really footage that was cut from that sequence. “Learn to Play ‘Tonight You Belong to Me’” includes sections where you can learn to tune a ukulele (something I’ve been dying to learn), play it, play along with the Ukulele Gal and, finally, play along with the jerk himself. It’s bizarre to say the least.The last bit is just a scene from “The Jerk” where Navin serenades his sweetheart at the beach. ---