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Community reviews
From TMDb members · 1 total- Wuchak7/10
***Steve Martin’s breakout comedy*** A homeless mentally-challenged man (Steve Martin) shares his amusing tale of rags-to-riches-to-hobo with flashbacks. Catlin Adams plays a stunt rider at a carnival who has the hots for Navin (Martin) while Bernadette Peters plays a more imp…
Full text & links on TMDb in the reviews section below.
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The Jerk
“A rags to riches to rags story.”
69%
Movie
1h 34m
AI Analysis
The Jerk (1979) — AI movie analysis
WatchMind AI generated this AI analysis of The Jerk (1979) — a movie tagged as Comedy with funny moods and steady pacing.
Story & themes: 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 matt… Our models also surface themes such as ai and family from synopsis and genre signals.
Watch context: Best suited for date night and casual background watching. Expect steady storytelling (~94 min).
Community signal: TMDb members rate The Jerk 69% (900 votes) — solid community ratings for this movie.
AI verdict
Use this AI analysis as a quick read on The Jerk before you watch — trailer, TMDb reviews, and licensed streaming links on this page help you decide.
Preview on this device: 44% match — Matches your funny mood + comedy. Sign in to save your profile across devices.
Algorithmic AI analysis from genres, synopsis, pacing heuristics, and TMDb community scores — not a generative chatbot. How WatchMind works.
Insights
Audience & engagement
How WatchMind visitors interact with this title — views, saves, sentiment, and taste match when you're signed in, or a device preview while browsing. Aggregates are anonymous; last 30 days.
Early data — charts fill in as more people explore this title.
TMDb audience score
69%
from 900 TMDb votes
Taste match (this device)
44%match
Preview from browsing on this browser — not saved to an account yet.
Matches your funny mood + comedy
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- 0
Engagement breakdown
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Views trend (14 days)
Daily title page views on WatchMind
Synopsis
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.
Quick facts
- Type
- Movie
- Status
- Released
- Release date
- 1979-12-14
- Runtime
- 1h 34m
- TMDB rating
- 6.9
- TMDB ID
- 6471
Watch & discovery tips
- Read TMDb member reviews in the reviews section, and audience tips from other WatchMind visitors in Audience notes.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I watch The Jerk (1979)?
The Jerk is available for discovery on WatchMind. You can find official links to rent, buy, or stream from licensed digital stores like Apple TV and Amazon in our "Where to Watch" section.
Is there an official trailer for The Jerk?
Yes, you can watch the official trailer for The Jerk directly on this page. We pull the latest video metadata from TMDb and play it via YouTube integration.
What is The Jerk about?
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 slaphap... This is the official synopsis available via TMDb community metadata.
Is there an AI analysis for The Jerk?
Yes. WatchMind publishes an AI analysis on this page — tone, pacing, audience fit, and community scores from TMDb metadata and recommendation models (not a chatbot). Scroll to the AI Analysis section or read the meta description summary.
How long is the movie The Jerk?
The official runtime for The Jerk is approximately 94 minutes.
Cast & crew
Names and photos from The Movie Database (TMDb). Follow links on themoviedb.org for full filmographies.
Directors & writers
Cast
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
Bill Macy
Stan Fox
M. Emmet Walsh
Madman
Dick O'Neill
Frosty
Maurice Evans
Hobart
Helena Carroll
Hester
Ren Woods
Elvira
Pepe Serna
Punk #1
Sonny Terry
Blues Singer
Brownie McGhee
Blues Singer
Jackie Mason
Harry Hartounian
- S
Sharon Johansen
Lenore Hartounian
Audience notes
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Discussion0 notes
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Community reviews
Written by TMDb members — same catalogue as our movie & TV metadata. API terms
***Steve Martin’s breakout comedy*** A homeless mentally-challenged man (Steve Martin) shares his amusing tale of rags-to-riches-to-hobo with flashbacks. Catlin Adams plays a stunt rider at a carnival who has the hots for Navin (Martin) while Bernadette Peters plays a more important woman in his life. “The Jerk” (1979) has several laugh-out-loud scenes like the eventual confrontation between Patty (Catlin) and Marie (Peters), but there are also some flat, overlong parts, like when Navin departs the mansion in the last act. “Forrest Gump” (1994) was obviously inspired by “The Jerk” and made a more serious, popular picture. Jim Carrey also took a lot of inspiration from Martin and “The Jerk” to forge the even funnier “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” (1994). The movie runs 1 hour, 34 minutes and was shot in the Los Angeles area. GRADE: B
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