Steve Martin: A Wild and Crazy Guy

A while back, a collection of Steve Martin's TV specials from the 1970s and 80s was on sale for very little on Amazon. I bought a copy because I had remembered enjoying some of them. Well, I've now seen all five and most did not live up to my expectations...but this special and the one that followed it ("Comedy Is Not Pretty") have held up well. Instead of relying on his stand-up routine or his SNL appearances, these two specials are simply ultra-bizarre and make his appearance in "The Jerk" seem like "Masterpiece Theater"!! Sure, some of the skits fell very flat...but they came so rapidly that it never got dull.

"A Wild and Crazy Guy" does not, fortunately, have Martin playing that annoying Eastern European jerk who says that same line. It's his first network special and consists of lots of little films and fake Public Service Announcements that were just strange and off- kilter. For example, he plays 'Turtleboy'...a guy who wrangles and rides giant tortoises like the men in westerns! He also does a PSA decrying that garbage dumps are being turned into parks...'so what will YOU say to your kids when they say they want to play with the rats and vermin??'. Ultra-weird...and worth seeing.