2. Steve Martin
Another of my early movie memories is the comedy gem The Three Amigos, (basically remade as Tropic Thunder starring Robert Downey Jr.) I was obsessed with this film as a boy. I knew it word for word. I knew the little body shake they did action by action. I devoured this film and loved the fact it had the word shit in it and I was allowed to listen to it because it was a PG. Man I tell ya, its the little things. As most of my ex-girlfriends can attest to. But I digress. The head of these three dumb protagonists was a silver fox. A white haired wizard whose comedy chops were smacking me at 60mph with an aftertaste of funny. That man was Steve Martin. So as a budding student of the comedy game, by the time I got to 11 or 12 I wanted to see more of what this guy could do. And boy was it good. Planes, Trains and Automoblies (basically remade as Due Date starring, you guessed it, Robert Downey Jr.) was a hoot, I loved Father Of The Bride and the first major Steve Martin release of my lifetime, Bowfinger, is still a favourite to this day. I found a copy of The Jerk his 1979 classic, and wept with laughter and tears of sadness because I knew I could never be that funny. And then as the sun rose on the new millennium, it set on Steve Martins career and relevance. Cheaper by the Dozen, 1 and 2. His attempt to get serious (again, why do they do it?) Shopgirl. And the most unforgivable of all; The Pink Panther remake. This was the worst offense in my eyes. I was raised on Pink Panther as a kid, my dad had them all and made me watch every single one. I fell in love with Peter Sellers portrayal of the hapless Inspector Clouseau and could not believe that Steve Martin was remaking it. Some things are better left untouched. And this to me was the straw that broke the camels back. He was panned by critics and audiences alike, yet somehow they made a sequel! This to me was comedy sacrilege and unforgivable. I understand that these days Steve Martin is quite content to play the banjo in a bluegrass band and count his millions from his mansion adorned with posters of himself. And who could blame him. Well always have the Jerk. And speaking of jerks