Review: ‘Steve! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces’ – An In Depth Look At The Legend’s Career & Life

After struggling with my streaming for a week or so I finally got a chance to watch the new documentary on the life and career of comedy legend Steve Martin entitled, STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces. At three-plus hours over two installments the documentary digs deep into Martin’s entire life, leaving no stone unturned, as the saying goes. We’re predominantly a rock n roll blog around here, but I thought we might change lanes on this one to comedy… and Steve is a legend so I feel I can get away with it.

I’ll admit up front, I am a HUGE Steve Martin fan. Even before I started listening to rock n roll I was a comedy fan. We all were. I was introduced to Martin’s comedy from watching Saturday Night Live. How else would I have discovered him? I was a preteen, it’s not like my parents let me hang around in comedy clubs on school nights. That first cast of SNL, “The Not Ready For Prime Time Players,” was legendary and even I got stay up late to watch them on the weekends and that’s where I saw Martin for the first time. The 70s really was a golden age of comedy. The comedians of that era really were the true rock stars: George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Cheech & Chong and then Steve Martin, Robin Williams and so many more. In the 70s some of the comedy albums – usually a recording from a live show – sold more copies than many rock n roll albums.

Martin’s avant garde and just plain wacky brand of comedy just hit my funny bone. I can remember seeing the grey haired man in the white suit with bunny ears on and being blown away. I’ve posted on this blog many times about my first album, Some Girls, from the Stones. That’s a true statement in terms of music… but if I’m being totally honest, my first album was actually Steve Martin’s A Wild And Crazy Guy. And my first concert – at the enormous Kemper Arena no less – was to see Steve Martin on September 30, 1978. I was still nearly 2 years away from seeing a live rock show. The couples in front of us passed a joint around and I thought my father was going to shit himself… Somehow, I’d seen an ad for Martin’s show in the newspaper and begged my parents to take me, “for my birthday present.” I can remember it like it was yesterday. I’d never felt that kind of comedic energy in a room, and this was a large room. I had memorized a lot of his bits from the album and would repeat them at school… My good friend Stormin’ once told me he did the same thing… memorized Martin’s comedy albums and regurgitated the bits at school to make “the chicks laugh.” Well played, Stormin’, well played. The show I saw ended with Martin performing “King Tut.” God it was comedy heaven.

My fandom extends to his movies. I’ve seen most of them. I read his novel, Shop Girl. I saw a performance of his play Picasso At Lapine Agile over at the UMKC theater department. I’ve read several of his books from Cruel Shoes to his comedy memoir Born Standing Up. I say all of this so you can understand the depth of my love of this man’s comedy and artistic work. I actually went into this documentary thinking there was nothing I didn’t already know about Steve Martin… I was, as usual, wrong.

I really liked the documentary. The first piece was all about his stand up career. It starts where all documentaries start, with his childhood. His father was cold and distant, it sounds like an unpleasant childhood. His father always had something shitty to say about his work. Martin seemed like an “overnight sensation” when he hit in the mid 70s but he’d actually been grinding on the comedy circuit for 10 years. He was a writer for the Smothers Brothers television show. You get to see some of his bits develop, which I found fascinating but some people might find dull. The first piece really takes off, like his standup career, towards the end. Part one ends around 1980 when Martin walked away from stand up and transitioned to the movies.

The second piece of the documentary covers not only his movie career, but really his life – who this man Steve Martin is, and who he’s become. I thought it would just be a linear progression through his movie career and then his return to stand up with comedy partner and good friend Martin Short. But it wasn’t linear at all. It was more like an hour and a half of hanging around with Martin. It felt like spending an afternoon with an old friend. He mentions many of his movies – the good ones and the not so good ones. I defy you not to tear up when he talks about John Candy. Martin says in the documentary, “As you age you end up being the worst version of yourself or the best version of yourself,” and that really hit home to me. The whole second part of the documentary was centered around Martin’s personal journey and attempts to be that best version – or at least a better version – of himself.

I thought this thing was a home run. Like his comedy it wasn’t a traditional doc. This really felt personal. I was happy to hear that Martin, now in his 70s, married and a father, is finally happy. That’s a damn good story. If you’re a fan of comedy, or of Martin this is a must see. Jerry Seinfeld and Martin sit down and talk in part 2 of the doc and can I just say, Jerry is just a funny, funny human. This thing is a celebration of a life and a celebration of comedy. And believe me, we could all use a laugh right about now. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon laughing and remembering all that great comedy.

Cheers!