The Jerk got considered a box office smash, produced with a low budget of $4 million. It earned $100 million internationally and $73 million in the United States. The ninety-five minutes long film got produced by Aspen Film Society and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb contributed to the screenplay, along with Michael Elias and story writing. Martin chose the director, Carl Reiner, and claimed to have a joyful set while filming.
The film was a financial success receiving major positive reviews. The Jerk’s cast includes Steve Martin (as Navin R. Johnson), Catlin Adams (as Patty Bernstein), Helena Carroll (as Hester), Bernadette Peters (as Marie Kimble Johnson), M. Emmet Walsh (as Madman), and more.
The film got funny, vulgar, and stupid sometimes. One reviewer also found Steve Martin’s acting silly and exaggerated. It gets made of gags more than comedy. So, the film might not make the viewers laugh again.
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The Jerk Plot
Navin gets adopted by a black family in Mississippi. He cannot dance in rhythm to the blues music played but well to a champagne-style song. Thus, he leaves the house and goes to St. Louis. He adopts a dog on the way and names it ‘Shithead.’
While staying at a motel, Shithead barks at Navin’s door. Thinking of it as a fire alarm, Navin runs on the guests, making them furious. To make a living, Navin joins a gas station and finds a solution to a customer’s slipping glasses. The customer, Stan Fox, promises to market the device and share the profit with him.
Meanwhile, a crazy gunman randomly selects Navin’s name from a phonebook and opens fire, seeing an opportunity. However, Navin misses the bullet and reaches a traveling carnival while running from the crazy gunman.
Further, Navin begins working as a weight guesser. He gets into a physical relationship with a motorcyclist, Patty Bernstein. After that, he falls for Marie Kimble, a cosmetologist. However, the relationship does not work because Navin is financially unstable.
Broken Navin goes to Los Angeles with Shithead, where he gets a letter from the crazy gunman, who is now normal and works as a private detective. According to the letter, Stan Fox wants to meet Navin.
Stan successfully marketed Navin’s device and provided him with $250,000, his share of the profit. He also renamed Navin’s solution, the device, for slipping glasses, as Opti-Grab. The brand grows over time, and Navin’s fate makes a turn.
Navin finds and marries Marie and lives a lavish life. Unfortunately, he gets sued by Opti-Grab customers who got cross-eyed forever after using his device. Accordingly, he must pay them $10 million.
Navin gets broke, his married life suffers, and he roams on the streets. After some time, he encounters Marie, Shithead, and his adoptive family. Navin frequently used to send money to his adoptive family. The family invested in it, got financially stable, and purchased a bigger house.
Navin goes to his adoptive family’s home with Marie and Shithead, where he perfectly dances in rhythm to the blues music.
The Jerk Filming Locations
The City of Northridge, San Fernando Valley, and Pasadena, downtown Los Angeles are the two primary filming locations for The Jerk. Principal photography required $4.6 million and forty-five days.
The Gas Station
Navin R. Johnson works at a gas station, and a crazy gunman randomly finds his name in the phone book and follows to kill him. The gas station got filmed at 485 N Rosemead Blvd, Pasadena. It was a well-known site for The Jerk fans. However, the gas station got replaced by a fast-food chain, Carl’s Jr., in the 1990s.
The Carnival Scene
The gunman shoots a bullet at the gas station but misses the target. Navin reaches a traveling carnival while running from the gunman. It got filmed at Northridge’s old Devonshire Downs Fairgrounds.
The Down Fairgrounds, informally called Downs, served as a horse racing track and multiple facilities. It is called North Campus today and comes under California State University, Northridge.
The Miniature Train
Navin’s glasses flew while riding a miniature train, and he tried to get them back in the film. The scene got filmed at the Travel Town in Griffith Park near a zoo in Los Angeles. It contains many train locomotives (that still run there), a donkey ride, a trolley ride, and more.
Navin’s Lavish House
Navin finds a solution to slipping glasses and sells them under Opti-Grab. His business continues to grow, and he purchases a house in Beverly Hills, California, until he loses a lawsuit.
The 29000 sq. ft house is at 1011 North Beverly Drive. Created in 1926, it got bought and sold many times. Moreover, it contains nine bedrooms and fifteen bathrooms. The house also got used for filming some scenes in ‘How To Watch Night Doctor And Episode Schedule.’
Pontiac Firebird Trans AM
This vehicle has made its way through pop culture. Pontiac Firebird Trans AM is one of the notable elements of the film, made custom designed by a renowned custom car designer, George Barris, responsible for similar popular vehicles.
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