The Jerk story outline

The Jerk transcript
The Jerk - The Script

The Jerk

Story by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb

Screenplay by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias


The opening scene, in an alleyway beside a theatre would be very typical, I picture it typically American, trash cans and fire escape ladders, raining. The diegetic sound of sirens and traffic noise are apparent, but not overwhelming as Navin (Steve Martin), our main character, sits on a step looking like a bum.

Cutting to an obviously different point in Navin’s life, it is apparent at this point that we are at a stage before the downfall of our main character. We are on the porch of his adopted parents house, on a farm. They are a very typically black 40’s or 50’s family, who are singing and dancing, Navin attempts to join in but has no rhythm. This then cuts to a similarly traditional household where all the family including Navin are around the dinner table, enjoying a celebratory lunch for his birthday. Anything else happening in the house before he leaves will be along very similar lines in terms of design and era as the porch and the dinner table, such as Navin’s bedroom, Grandma’s room and similarly, the songs that would be played on the radio in Navin’s bedroom when he cant sleep.

Navin then finds himself hitchhiking, albeit badly as he has remained outside his house for the majority of the day, he then beckons down a truck which takes him to the end of his fence! A montage of hitchhiking scenes ensue, I imagine these to be with typical hillbilly, deep south types in banged up old pick-up trucks, with suitably country and western radio in the background. Ending up at what I imagine to be a crabby old motel, with a flickering sign and a less than tempting room.

After the drama with the fire and the dog shithead, the scene cuts to Navin walking, with dog in hand down a dusty road, engaging in another bought of hitchhiking he finds himself at the toilet of a gas station, looking for the key to get in. This gas station plays somewhat of an important part in the film as Navin works here for a period before joining the circus. I can see it having a large panoramic, slanted window across the entire front of the store, with the clerk on the right hand side. Above and below the window is wood panelling, with peeling red lines painted across them some time ago, the gas station will have a bell on the door when people walk in, and rows of old school produce, chocolate bars, magazines, beef jerky etc.. all typical American tat. So Navin gets a job at this Gas station and one thing leads to another, whereby he gets a room in a closet in the bathroom, which is 5-star in his eyes, I can however see this not being the nicest place on earth, as most petrol station toilets aren’t.

This then leads on to the guys turning up in the car and trying to use the stolen credit card, which triggers Navin to alert the police in a rather bashful manner. This is where the film does tend to get rather surreal, with the rope tied to the back of the robbers car which was intended to stop them getting away, actually results in them towing a small church behind their Chevy.

The film then takes an even more surreal turn, introducing the character of ‘Madman’ who picks Navin, at random from the newly delivered phone book. The shot of Madman’s house would be very simple, not a lot of detail, he is after all, a madman. One desk, one chair, one madman and very individual lighting, it’s a very short shot after all. Then back to the gas station, Navin is introduced to Stan, whose glasses he fixes which will be relevant for Navin later on in life. Then madman begins trying to shoot him, who doesn’t quite realise what’s happening at this point, adding to his rather blasé personality.

Navin eventually escapes in a car with no tyres, and pulls into the carnival lot, which is the beginning of his rise to the top. Pulling past a sign that says, ‘carnival personnel only.’ The scene would then cut to Navin standing at his ‘guess your weight stall’ with his new boss Frosty, surrounded by half-rate prizes, such as bicentennial glasses, ashtrays and a thimble. Navin attempts to sell his trade, with not much luck to begin with.

Cutting to the motorcycle ring, for a play this would be represented with the sounds of motorcycle engines etc. This is where Navin meets the daredevil rider, ‘The amazing Patty Bernstein’, whom he has a rather one sided relationship with, in various situations, such as Patty’s trailer, which I do imagine as being something reminiscent of a gypsies fortune telling wagon inside and out, and the ferris wheel.

Another twist ensues with the introduction of Marie, after saving ‘Billy’ from the miniature train. There is then a big drama between Navin, Patty and Marie where Patty who is quite a touchy individual, gives Navin the warning that if she ever catches him “looking at another broad” she wont hesitate to use her switchblade in a rather uncomfortable manner.

And so starts the relationship between Navin and Marie, beginning in his house (the back of his trailer) where Patty finds them, she punches Navin and Marie punches Patty, this is pretty much the last we see of Patty in the film, continuing on to cut to Navin and Marie on a beach at night, the relationship blossoms quite predictably, with a lot of cliché love spiel from Navin. The relationship then jumps quite far forward with the scene where the two are in bed, and then in the bathtub singing at Navin’s apartment. This is a rather odd scene, Marie asks Navin to marry him but then disappears, Navin who is love struck, begins his quest to find her, this leads him to Stan fox’s office, where he eventually receives a great fortune for inventing the ‘opti-grab’ Navin deposits this money into the bank and resumes his search for Marie at this new house where he makes a phone call to her Mother, discovering shes now working at the May company in Los Angeles. He arrives and takes the place of a man covered in mascoderm, Marie’s test model, as he is uncovered the crowds watching are more than a little surprised.

Marie is again living with Navin, a series of events unfold, Navin gets conned into investing his money into really stupid schemes, Marie takes up bullfighting and it’s the beginning of the end for Navin and his money, millions of people file law suits against him regarding the ‘opti-grab’ glasses design fault, in that it turns you cross eyed. This un-surprisingly goes to Navin’s head, Marie hates who the money has turned him into and leaves.
The final scene cuts back to the beginning, outside the theatre in the alleyway. When a station wagon pulls up, carrying his family and Marie, the family are now rich after having invested all the money Navin continually sent them into a ‘periodic investment in a no-load mutual fund.’ Navin stinks, but is taken back in by the family, all ends well! The last scene is the family dancing and singing on the porch of the family home again.

The end.