After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.
Acting
Steve Martin's first starring role is a masterclass in controlled idiocy.
Writing
Martin & Gottlieb's script is a joke-density miracle.
Direction
Carl Reiner lets Martin run wild and it WORKS.
Director
Carl Reiner
Steve Martin
Navin R. Johnson
Bernadette Peters
Marie Kimble Johnson
Catlin Adams
Patty Bernstein
Mabel King
Mother
Richard Ward
Father
Carl Gottlieb
Iron Balls McGinty
Dick Anthony Williams
Taj
Bill Macy
Stan Fox
M. Emmet Walsh
Madman
Dick O'Neill
Frosty
Maurice Evans
Hobart
Helena Carroll
Hester
Ren Woods
Elvira
Pepe Serna
Punk #1
Sonny Terry
Blues Singer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Martin wrote the screenplay during his stand-up peak and insisted on shooting the phone book scene in one take. It took three days.
The 'I was born a poor black child' opener is now taught in film studies as both brilliant satire and uncomfortable relic—1979 was messy, baby.
US
