The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
The Jerk
Comedy · 1979
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.
Movie details
The Jerk
“A rags to riches to rags story.”
1979 Comedy 1h 34m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
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.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Jerk?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Much Ado About Nothing
Comedy · 2013
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Tommy Boy
Comedy · 1995
To save the family business, two ne’er-do-well traveling salesmen hit the road with disastrously funny consequences.
St. Vincent
Comedy · 2014
A young boy whose parents just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic, war veteran who lives next door.
Impractical Jokers: The Movie
Comedy · 2020
The story of a humiliating high school mishap from 1992 that sends the Impractical Jokers on the road competing in hidden-camera challenges for the chance to turn back the clock and redeem three of the four Jokers.
Kingpin
Comedy · 1996
After bowler Roy Munson swindles the wrong crowd and is left with a hook for a hand, he settles into impoverished obscurity. That is, until he uncovers the next big thing: an Amish kid named Ishmael. So, the corrupt and the hopelessly naive hit the circuit intent on settling an old score with Big Ern.
Batman and Harley Quinn
Adventure · 2017
Batman and Nightwing are forced to team with the Joker's sometimes-girlfriend Harley Quinn to stop a global threat brought about by Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man.
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
Adventure · 2005
The maniacal baby of the Griffin family, Stewie, meets his future self. In doing this he discovers that his future image is not what he has anticipated because of a near death experience.
Taking Care of Business
Comedy · 1990
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Soapdish
Comedy · 1991
Celeste Talbert is the star of the long-running soap opera "The Sun Also Sets." With the show's ratings down, Celeste's ruthlessly ambitious co-star, Montana Moorehead, and the show's arrogant producer, David Seton Barnes, plot to aggravate her into leaving the show by bringing back her old flame, Jeffrey Anderson, and hiring her beautiful young niece, Lori Craven.
The Ladies Man
Comedy · 1961
After his girl leaves him for someone else, Herbert gets really depressed and starts searching for a job. He finally finds one in a big house which is inhabited by many, many women. Can he live in the same home with all these females?
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Carl Reiner
Written by
Carl Gottlieb · Steve Martin · Michael Elias
Steve Martin
Navin R. Johnson
Bernadette Peters
Marie Kimble Johnson
Catlin Adams
Patty Bernstein
Mabel King
Mother
Richard Ward
Father
Carl Gottlieb
Iron Balls McGinty
Dick Anthony Williams
Taj
Court is in session
Put The Jerk on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.