No one has ever been smarter about being stupid than Steve Martin. He first gained worldwide recognition in the seventies for his silly and absurdist stand-up comedy routines. His banjo-playing, arrow-through-the-head-wearing “Wild and Crazy Guy” persona served as a beacon that brought him legions of lifelong fans.
As Martin’s career and talents matured over the years, he revealed hidden tastes that were far more refined and exquisite than his comparatively broad-styled beginnings could ever suggest. Instead of running his initial style into the ground, he explored and created more emotionally challenging and thoughtful material. The wacky persona and flamboyant physical comedy that made him famous is a far cry from the sophisticated writer and performer that Steve Martin would go on to become.
Despite being one of the most recognized and celebrated comedic actors of all time, Steve Martin has always been a writer at heart. Though there are exceptions, his strongest performances usually begin with his own material. No one else can balance humor and grace the way Martin does, and he has almost always appeared the most comfortable in films he had a hand in developing.
Steve Martin’s heart and humor are both irreplaceably one-of-a-kind. Over the span of his long career, his best work progressed in a direction that can’t be so easily defined as straightforward comedy or drama. From the music he performs to the books, plays, and movies he writes to the films he appears in, Steve Martin’s endlessly fascinating talents have consistently proven to belong in a class and a category in and of themselves.
HONORABLE MENTION: Only Murders in the Building (2021)
Martin’s most recent onscreen success is his first attempt at an ongoing series. Only Murders in the Building is a clever and captivating comedy/murder mystery that features endearing lead performances by Martin, his frequent collaborator Martin Short, and an in-her-element Selena Gomez. Co-created by Martin, the streaming series is the perfect vehicle for him at this stage in his life and career. His role requires a unique combination of wit, charm, and physical humor that only he can provide.
10. The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
There is an inherent decency to Steve Martin that makes you trust and like him no matter what character he plays. These expectations are brilliantly subverted in writer/director David Mamet’s twisty mystery/thriller, The Spanish Prisoner.
In the film, Martin plays a sociopathic swindler who initially appears to possess some of the performer’s most identifiably affable attributes. As his character’s ice-cold motivations are revealed, however, it becomes apparent that Martin’s familiar screen presence is a ruse used to catch audiences off guard. It’s one of the most unexpected and subtle performances of Steve Martin’s career.
9. Shopgirl (2005)
Steve Martin wrote the screenplay for this film, which is also based on his novella of the same name. Shopgirl is a moving, bittersweet, and unflinchingly realistic study of a May-December romance. Martin portrays an older, wealthy man who woos Claire Danes into a casual and unintentionally destructive relationship.
Martin is wholly naturalistic in the role, never once falling back on his comedic talents to protect his vulnerability. He is the source of few laughs in the film, bravely making the decision to appear chilly and uncharismatic. Martin’s serious-minded approach to his character selflessly allows for Jason Schwartzman to be the film’s primary comic relief in a lovable supporting role.
8. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
One of Martin’s freest and wildest roles is in this screen adaptation of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s stage musical (which itself was adapted from Roger Corman’s 1960 film).
In Little Shop of Horrors, Martin portrays an exuberantly sadistic dentist who breaks out into song when he gets overly excited about dispensing pain. It’s a playfully demented and theatrically comedic performance that boldly plays against the goodness and class that Martin generally exudes.
7. Bowfinger (1999)
In Bowfinger, Steve Martin portrays a lovable and desperate filmmaker who will stop at nothing to get his big break. Martin’s fast-talking, delusionally optimistic character is a funny, affectionate, and sympathetic love letter to all of Hollywood’s struggling dreamers. The film’s screenplay, which Martin penned by himself, manages to poke fun at the Hollywood rat race without judging or putting anyone down.
Typical of a Martin-scripted film, the supporting players all shine with some of the film’s biggest laughs. Eddie Murphy just about steals the movie with his dual portrayal of a mentally fragile movie star and his clueless brother.
6. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Steve Martin and Franz Oz’s collaborations have produced some of the most celebrated comedies of their time (also see numbers seven and eight on this list). In the director’s hands, Martin gives some of his most playful and transformative performances.
In Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Martin portrays a comically arrogant conman who poses as different (and hilarious) characters to swindle trusting women. With extreme command of his physicality and pricelessly impeccable timing, Martin delivers one of the most attention-grabbing and flat-out funniest performances of his career. Costar Michael Caine beautifully grounds Martin’s off-the-wall antics.
5. Parenthood (1989)
Despite his highly unique screen presence, Steve Martin has repeatedly proven to excel at straight Everyman roles. His most sympathetic and relatable of these roles can be found in director Ron Howard’s moving comedy/drama, Parenthood.
In the film, Martin portrays a middle-class father who is divided between providing for his family and his desire to spend as much time as possible with them. Martin inhabits the role with subtlety and care, but still manages to shine in select moments that call for his brand of wackiness. For both its heart and humor, it’s a role in which Martin is perfectly cast.
4. Roxanne (1987)
Roxanne was, at the time of its release, a major turning point for Steve Martin’s career. The screenplay (for which Martin received his first solo credit) is based on Edmond Rostand’s classic stageplay, Cyrano de Bergerac.
The film is a beautifully romantic blend of hilarious wit and refined sophistication. His role as a big-nosed, huge-hearted, poetry-writing fire chief is one of Martin’s most beloved characters. Roxanne serves as the beginning of Martin’s efforts to bring more sophisticated and heartfelt material to his fans.
3. (tie) The Jerk (1979), All of Me (1984)
Steve Martin’s physically extreme and wittily absurd collaborations with director Carl Reiner produced a number of irrefutable classics. Both The Jerk and All of Me stick out amongst them, as they both feature Martin in full command of his comedic capabilities and physical prowess.
Partially based on Martin’s stand-up material, The Jerk is the perfect summation of his early career. As innocently dim-witted as Martin’s character may be, the intelligence and comedic genius behind its creation are wholly apparent. Martin’s star-making classic is just as surprising and hilarious today as it was when it was released over forty years ago.
Martin’s extreme gift for physical comedy is on full display in All of Me. In the film, half of Martin’s body is possessed by Lily Tomlin’s spirit. The resulting tug-of-war that Martin enacts produces some of the biggest laughs of his career. It is an unforgettable comedic performance in which Martin showcases intricate and unparalleled physical skill.
2. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Written and directed by John Hughes, Planes, Trains & Automobiles contains Steve Martin’s best onscreen performance that didn’t start with his own material. His reality-grounded straight man portrayal turns overtly fussy and snooty behavior into moments of big laughter.
Martin’s onscreen chemistry with costar John Candy is downright magical, and it serves as a prime example of how generously Martin shares the spotlight with his costars. Martin often takes the brave risk of appearing unlikable and stiff in the film, selflessly allowing for Candy’s more gregarious character to shine in some of the film’s funniest and most soulful moments.
1. L.A. Story (1991)
Though it’s not his most celebrated or renowned film, L.A. Story is, upon close inspection, Steve Martin’s single greatest accomplishment as both a writer and a performer. It’s a wholly original film where the silliness of his early years works in perfect harmony with the refined maturation of his later years.
L.A. Story examines the many positive and negative aspects of Los Angeles with an equal sense of otherworldly wonder and playfulness. It offers a freshly affectionate perspective on one of America’s most oddly beautiful cities. The film is a strange and beautiful blend of slapstick humor, surreal satire, and deeply felt romantic emotions. It is Martin at his most absurd, but it’s also him at his most elegant, philosophical, and sincere.
Also See: Grand Canyon, The Three Amigos!, The Man With Two Brains, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, My Blue Heaven, Father of the Bride, HouseSitter, The Pink Panther, The Pink Panther 2, A Simple Twist of Fate, Pennies From Heaven, Novocaine, The Muppet Movie, It’s Complicated, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, And the Band Played On, Mixed Nuts
