The Jerk (1979)

The Jerk poster

Universal Pictures
Starring:
 Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters
Directed by: Carl Reiner

Cat Out of the Bag Alert!  This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Navin (Steve Martin) is a simple man who sets out to make his fortune through a series of misadventures and ultimately falls in love.

Kitty Cameos: Near the beginning of the film Navin is recounting his life growing up as a poor black child in Mississippi. His family home is seen and a large multi-colored long-haired cat is sitting on the roof.

The Jerk - Nevin's family home with cat on roof

The Jerk - Maine Coon cat on roof of house

Later in the film after Navin has become rich and famous he is visited by a priest asking for charity. The priest shows Navin a film shot secretly of an arena of men gathering, some of them holding cats.

The Jerk - men in arena holding cats

As Nevin watches in horror a man (billed as Pig-Eye Jackson in the credits but who is actually Steve Martin himself) comes out with a basket of three kittens. He holds up two of the kittens to the audience who cheer rowdily. He then sets the kittens down on a table in front of him.

The Jerk - cat juggler Steve Martin with basket of kittens

The Jerk - cat juggler Steve Martin pulling kittens out of basket

The Jerk - cat juggler Steve Martin holding up kittens to audience

The Jerk - three kittens set on table

The Jerk - three kittens sitting on table

Kitty Carnage Warning!  The man scoops the kittens up and to Nevin’s horror starts juggling them. The kittens being juggled are obviously fake.

The Jerk - three kittens being scooped up by cat juggler Steve Martin

The Jerk - three kittens held by cat juggler Steve Martin

The Jerk - cat juggler Steve Martin juggling kittens

The Jerk - cat juggler Steve Martin juggling three fake kittens

The Jerk - cat juggler Steve Martin juggling fake kittens

The men in the audience cheer, holding up their cats. One of them looks very much like the cat at the beginning of the film who could be either cat actor Elvis or cat actor Pearl. Nevin demands the film be turned off and asks the priest how much he wants.

The Jerk - man drinking beer while holding white long-haired cat

The Jerk - man holding up multi-colored long haired cat

Final Mewsings: Cat juggling should definitely be banned!

Many thanks to Nick Wale for letting us know about the cats in this movie!


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