He's Not Stupid, He's A Jerk!

Of the handful of John Candy and Steve Martin films mentioned yesterday, my favorite by far is The Jerk, although yes, I like Uncle Buck. Unlike others on that list, The Jerk received the honor of having a TV-movie sequel, 1984's The Jerk, Too.

Directed by journeyman TV director Michael Schultz (also directed Krush Groove!) from a script by Ziggy Steinberg (Porky's Revenge) and Rocco Urbisci, The Jerk, Too isn't currently available, and no, I haven't seen it. There's a British DVD 2-pack out; I may have to resort to that eventually.

The cast is uninspiring, featuring Mark Blankfield as Navin R. Johnson, though I'm pleased to see Stacey Nelkin (the lead from Halloween III: Season of the Witch) as Marie. Ray Walston and Robert Sampson show up in supporting roles. Blankfield's main credit is a stint on Fridays, ABC's Saturday Night Live take-off from the early 1980s, but I am more fascinated by the fact that four years after he was a jerk too, he appeared in a TV-movie sequel to a John Candy theatrical feature, playing a supporting role in the similarly creatively titled Splash, Too. I'll write some more on that just as soon as I turn up a copy - I could pay fifty bucks for a UK VHS, but it's has never had a North American release. It's not surprising that these apparent clinkers aren't readily available, but why the UK has more tolerance than the US, I haven't the faintest idea.