The Downfall of Steve Martin

The edgier comedians of the past have officially been tamed. The opening of The Pink Panther with 21 million dollars this past weekend, made the number one spot at the box office. The problem though, is that the great comedians of yesteryear (yesteryear being the late 70s/early 80s, hey, I’m young) have gone out to the pasture to graze. They are content with sitting back, making safe family comedies and laughing their way to the Hollywood old folk’s home.

The Pink Panther is a poor man’s comedy, devoid of intelligence and made with the skill and vision of lazy filmmakers and actors. The Pink Panther struggles as it attempts to recreate the magic that Peter Sellers brought to the role while appealing to a whole new generation of movie goers. The result is a film that hits a few funny moments but lacks a firm direction and fails to carve itself a new identity.



Steve Martin used to be something special, a slap stick comedian with unbridled talent and raw humour. He used to have an identity that meant something, starring in a string of films that only became funnier as time has passed. Films such as The Jerk, The Man with Two Brains and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels were pure comedy classics. He was downright masterful in these starring roles, taking the audience on a ride of stupidity that made them smarter in the end.

But Martin wasn’t just capable of comedy. Grand Canyon, a film by Lawrence Kasdan, stretched Martin’s acting chops. It was a tour de force about the racial animosity in Los Angeles. It’s been argued this year that Crash, which is nominated for the best picture Oscar, is almost a remake of the film (Grand Canyon is something you should definitely rent if you want to see a great movie).

Then Martin went away. He didn’t actually go away, per say, but he stopped making movies people cared about. That led to Bringing Down the House, the point where Martin’s career officially, to borrow the often used television term, jumped the shark. The movie was a complete waste of time but it didn’t stop it from becoming a huge hit. That led to other futile, unfunny films such as Cheaper by the Dozen, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and eventually, the ill fated remake of The Pink Panther.

Sure, Shopgirl is a great deviation on Martin’s late career resume but it’s not enough. He’s officially lost his edge, the mojo or moxie that led to his stratospheric rise to the top. Instead of bilking females for all they were worth in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, he’s bumbling around Paris, crafting a character so stupid and unfunny that he doesn’t even notice when he repeatedly runs in a car while trying to park. That’s not funny, it’s lame.

It’s sad to watch such an all time great actor sink to the lowest form of cinema, the bad family movie, to pay the bills. Now, if he could find a great family flick like Zathura, (which just came out on DVD), then this article would serve no purpose. But he can’t and it doesn’t look like he’s going to try to avoid them in the future, either.

Steve Martin, though, is not the only comedian who’s lost his touch. Ironically, before The Pink Panther even started, there was a trailer for a new family comedy that looks just atrocious. The say never judge a book by its cover but in Hollywood these days, you can almost always accurately judge a movie by its trailer. The movie in question? RV, starring Robin Williams.

Now here’s a guy, who in his prime, could do it all. One minute he’s running around a stage, swearing his head off and making yours laugh until it hurt and then starring in great comedies and dramas (Almost 75% of what Williams has made is worth watching at least once) but now he’s reduced himself to a bad family movie. The type where the main character gets hurt, again and again and its supposed to be funny.

Somehow, Williams has even managed to get himself roped into an upcoming sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire. Why? Was the first movie not enough? If I remember correctly, it ended just fine and didn’t really leave itself open for a sequel. And Hollywood wonders why nobody wants to go to the movies anymore.

Big name actors such as Steve Martin and Robin Williams exclusively rely on their previous successful string of humorous movies to glide their way into success. Sooner or later, with a new chain of tedious movies at their backsides, the old one worthy of praise will be quickly forgotten.