Universal is the real jerk on this skimpy DVD
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“Whaddya mean you’ve never seen The Jerk?!?!?!?” is the usual response I got when people found out I had never seen the 1979 comedy favorite starring Steve Martin. I am slightly embarrassed that this incredibly popular movie somehow eluded me all these years and I am delighted to be reviewing Universal’s new 26th Anniversary Edition DVD for you loyal Razorfine readers.
Unfortunately, any promise the words “Anniversary Edition” might hold for this disc to be truly special are squelched when one looks at the back cover and sees the near complete lack of bonus features. Well, at least the movie is really funny.
The Jerk tells the story of a very stupid man, Navin Johnson (Steve Martin), as he leaves home for the first time and travels around the country looking for fame and fortune. Raised by a poor black family in Mississippi, Navin hears watered-down jazz music on the radio and is inspired to get out and find what life has waiting for him. On his way he works at a gas station for Jackie Mason, gets a job with a carnival, falls in love with Burnadette Peters, and invents an eyeglass apparatus that makes him a millionaire. Throughout all of this, Navin never gets any smarter, and his stupidity finally leads him to losing his entire fortune.
Martin plays the idiot brilliantly in his first starring role in a feature film. He also had a hand in the writing of the screenplay, which combined with his expert comedy timing and delivery make the film an incredibly goofy, funny viewing experience.
While there’s no doubt that the movie itself is worth owning for comedy fans, the presentation on disc as a special “anniversary edition” leaves a lot to be desired. The first special feature to be found is a rather strange and unnecessary lesson on how to play the song “Tonight You Belong To Me” on the ukulele. It teaches you how to tune your ukulele, how to play the chords that are in the song, and then how to play and sing the song at the same time. I’m not kidding.
The other feature is called “The Lost Filmstrips of Father Carlos Las Vegas De Cordova”, which is a newly filmed addition to the famous cat-juggling scene in the original movie. It’s not an outtake, a cut scene, or anything that was actually filmed around the same time as the actual movie. It’s not that funny, it’s very unnecessary, and it was filmed, like, yesterday by god knows who. It’s lame.
Other than that they give you the original theatrical trailer (which is funnier and better than anything in the other two “bonus features”), an on-screen essay about the film, Spanish and French language tracks, Spanish and French subtitles, and an English audio track that’s now in 5.1 surround sound. Big deal. There are no documentaries on the making of the film, no interviews with the cast and/or crew, nothing. At a list price of $19.98, it’s not even really all that cheap.
The Jerk is a great comedy, but this “26th Anniversary Edition” does it a bit of a disservice. Buy it if you just care about having the movie and don’t mind the lack of special features, but don’t bother if you already have it in its previous DVD edition.