1979 · comedy
The Jerk
Directed by Carl Reiner1h 34m1979
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.
Our read: The Jerk (1979) reads as a cosy, kinetic, inventive comedy entry — gentle in intensity, intimate in scope, measured in temperature, redemptive in outlook.
Cosy, kinetic, gentle comedy, inventive in texture. Redemptive, intimate, measured.
- cosy
- brisk
- gentle
- redemptive
- intimate
- funny
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Availability in the UK · via JustWatch
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How The Jerk feels to watch.
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What watching it is actually like.
“You want goofy seventies absurdism where an idiot stumbles into fortune and back.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if dated racial gags, horny humor, or pure silliness won't land for you.
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