17 Comments

What a great ode to Steve Martin, a rare talent.

Expand full comment

Totally! I was blown away. And all of the memorabilia he collected from throughout his childhood and career. Blown away. I'm also dying to see his play "WASP" that they showed and actor Finn Wittrock was in it!

Expand full comment

I will watch this documentary. Was WASP on Bway a few years ago? My ma saw a play of his a few years ago and said it was fab but it didn’t have a long run.

Expand full comment

I’m not sure. It’s a one act play and it appears the scenes from the doc are dramatization so this tracks but I haven’t been able to find out too much about it. The Yale drama school acted it out.

Expand full comment

I can't wait to see this! Thanks, Beth.

Expand full comment

It's so worth it! 3 hours of my life well spent.

Expand full comment

My fave three Steve Martin films are:

The Man with Two Brains

Parenthood

Father of the Bride

Will seek out this doc, thanks for the recommendation. 👏😘

Expand full comment

Thanks Kate!

Is it blasphemous that I haven’t seen “The Man with Two Brains”?

Another film mentioned was an early flop of his with Bernadette Peters, also his girlfriend, that I’m tempted to watch called “Pennies from Heaven” (1981). It’s a Depression era musical 🎵

Do watch the documentary! The part where he recites a line that John Candy gives in “Plane, Trains and Automobiles” and gets choked up I found particularly affecting.

Expand full comment

Aah you must see The Man with Two Brains, just to hear him spell his name!

Kathleen Turner is also brilliant in it. 👏

Expand full comment

Ok I’m in. Also Carl Reiner co-wrote?

Expand full comment

The Man With Two Brains is excellent, but IMO, Pennies From Heaven is sublime.

My 3 favorites would be:

The Jerk

Pennies From Heaven

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

I think he and Michael Caine are so great in DRS. It's also so dumb that it's great. I quote from that film to this day.

Looking forward to watching the doc. I'm a massive Steve Martin fan.

Expand full comment

Oh I forgot “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” - I loved that and Glenn Headley was so good

Expand full comment

And if this gets me out of my guilty indulgence of non stop obsessive rewatching of Poirot and Miss Marple series from the early 00s then it’s probably well worth it

Expand full comment

✔️

Expand full comment

Steve Martin is an American treasure.

Expand full comment

The best. And I learned so much about him through this documentary that I didn’t know. He’s a very accomplished human

Expand full comment

As we all should be, no? ;-)

Expand full comment