My mom and dad love great Steve Martin comedies. That means I grew up enjoying movies like Three Amigos, Roxanne, and Father of the Bride.

So, as a child, when I saw Steve Martin’s first movie The Jerk on TBS one time, I thought I was in for a treat. I knew lots of facts about movies back then, and I recalled that it came out in 1979, the same year as The Muppet Movie, which Steve Martin had a small role in. In my child’s mind, that meant that I could conflate the two together because they already had two things in common.

But when my parents saw me starting to watch The Jerk, they quickly told me to turn it off and do something else. That was one movie that was off limits. I had no idea why. It seemed harmless enough. It seemed to tell the story of a naïve man trying to make his way in the world. At least, that’s the first part of the movie.

I recently found The Jerk on Netflix, and my curiosity got the best of me. Thus, I finally started watching it to see if maybe I knew better than my parents. Turns out I definitely don’t. My parents were right all along.

The Point at Which I Had to Stop Watching

That’s a movie I’m better off not watching. I got to a certain point where I realized it wasn’t for me, and I turned it off and won’t be returning. After the main character joins a traveling carnival and discovers his special purpose, things take a turn I wasn’t expecting.

I’m not a prude, but I do try to be prudent in the entertainment I consume. And certain experiences just drag me down and make me feel awful, like watching a Quentin Tarantino movie. Sure, I can admire the cleverness of the dialogue and the unique characters and story structure. But when it comes down to it, I feel worse off for having seen it.

It was pretty interesting seeing how The Jerk contained elements of later comedies like Billy Madison and Dumb and Dumber in the character’s mannerisms and inadvertent brushes with death. Sadly, this is one film I don’t think I’ll ever be able to finish.

Lesson Learned

I imagine I’ll get raked over the coals for writing this article because The Jerk is considered a classic comedy. It’s just not for me, even though I’m happy for other people with different temperaments to enjoy it.

I’ve learned for myself that when my mom and dad say that something is not worth watching, I should listen. This isn’t the first time I’ve learned that lesson. It’s just a helpful reminder of that wisdom.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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