The Jerk Quotes
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Source: The Jerk
Speaker: Navin R. Johnson
"I was born a poor black child."
I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends, and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi...
Context
This line is spoken by Navin R. Johnson, played by Steve Martin, in the film The Jerk, directed by Carl Reiner (1979).
The Jerk could also be called The Idiot. How else to explain that Steve Martin's character was raised by a family of black sharecroppers, yet never realized he was adopted?
Unlike Dave Chappelle's black white supremacist, Steve Martin's character isn't blind. He's just stupid. So The Jerk begins with him, homeless and dirty, telling his story, which begins, "I was born a poor black child."
Where you've heard it
You've heard this if a Steve Martin fan is rattling off quotes or if you're at a costume party with Julianne Hough.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Steve Martin has never been poor nor, obviously, black, and we wouldn't be surprised if he sprang fully grown from his mother's womb.