I understand that a lot of people love The Jerk. I can see where the humor of every single joke is supposed to come from in an abstract way; unfortunately, I only laughed once during The Jerk, as M. Emmett Walsh's character was attempting to assassinate Steve Martin's titular jerk, repeatedly insulting him by using terms like "random," "average," and "run-of-the mill." The entire rest of the film bored me horribly. It's not a matter of older films' humor not translating, as Airplane! Came out just a year later and it holds up to this day. There's simply something about the rank stupidity and predictability of both the humor and the characters in The Jerk that I find simultaneously dull and obnoxious.
Review of The Jerk
