10 Best Carl Reiner Films

The Jerk was Steve Martin's first lead role in a film after just a few years of a stand-up act that was zany even by 1970s standards.

Martin has his choice of director, and it's not really much of surprise he went with Reiner. Both had come up in the sixties world of comedy writing - Reiner on Your Show of Shows and The Dick Van Dyke Show and Martin on The Smothers Brothers comedy hour - and instantly had a rapport.

So the two worked out the plot over the phone and in meetings, feeding their notes to Jaws scribe Carl Gottlieb.

The wacky, anything-can-happen spirit of Martin's stand-up is entirely retained in a film that intentionally just kind of meanders. The Jerk plays similarly to Forrest Gump without all the forced CGI and the uncomfortable political issues. There's a reason Stanley Kubrick not only cited it as one of his favourites, but was also inspired to start work on Eyes Wide Shut with Martin in mind.

Unlike Gump, The Jerk recognizes and revels in its own absurdity, but Reiner still managed to inject even the tiniest hint of heart - a motif he would pass on (with mixed results) to his son.