The Jerk

Navin Johnson has grown up as the white adopted son of a poor Black family in Mississippi. When he learns the truth about his origins, he leaves home and sets out for St. Louis, where his trusting nature makes him easy prey for people who take advantage of him. A string of odd jobs follows, including work at a filling station, while he falls for a woman named Marie. A small invention involving eyeglasses turns his fortunes around, bringing him wealth and fame, though his newfound success creates its own difficulties.

The Jerk is a 1979 American comedy directed by Carl Reiner, his second film after Oh, God! in 1977 and the first of several he made with Steve Martin. The screenplay was written by Carl Gottlieb, Michael Elias and Martin, who stars as Navin, with Bernadette Peters as Marie, Catlin Adams, Mabel King and Richard Ward among the credited cast of 55. David V. Picker and William E. McEuen produced for Universal Pictures and Aspen Film Society, on a budget of about 4 million dollars; it went on to take roughly 74 million dollars worldwide.

Audience response has been steady over the decades, with the film holding a 7.1 rating on IMDb from around 68,000 votes and a 6.9 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 934. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 across 45 reviews places it close to the audience scores.