Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces

I found the first part of the docuseries real inspiring, hilarious and a great look into the grit and discipline of Steve Martin. It was a great look into his genius. I thought the first episode was very compelling engaging and well strewn together.

I found the second episode to be really sweet, you got to know the man behind the mystery. Some great themes were thrown out there into the void. Loneliness. Dealing with failure. Love and marriage. Community. Friendship. Unfortunately none of them were too deeply explored. Left the second part feeling pretty aimless in my opinion. They were just randomly, briefly spoken of. I found myself getting pretty distracted while watching it. It was edited really poorly in my opinion. Lacked any sort of narrative flow.

I enjoyed this 2 part doc on Apple TV+. I had generally forgotten about Steve Martin in recent decades after having watched most of his 1980s movie output as a teenager.

Part 1 went into his childhood and early career in standup ending as his massive fame as a standup peaked in 1980.

Part 2 focussed on his pivot to movies and then catches up with his life since then focussing on his interests in fine art, his marriage and fatherhood, and recent work with Martin Short. Much of the latter episode is Steve and Martin working on current material in their joint show.

Some very touching moments as he tries to reconcile with his distant and cold father - the difficult relationship that seems to have defined his persona. Also as he reads a passage from Planes, Trains and Automobiles and remembers the late John Candy. Many great contributions throughout from people who worked with Steve over the years - commenting on his talent, his detachment, his personal struggles. Overall a thoughtful piece of work and a nostalgic one as I recalled having recited so many of his jokes from late 70s/ early 80s.

The early statements in this fawning documentary that he was the only comic in the 70s breaking new ground and the most important comic is pathetic. Richard Pryor and George Carlin were comedic geniuses. For all his faults which came to light later, at that time Bill Cosby was huge and important in the comedy scene. And Gabe Kaplan. This documentary is boring and sadly lacks true context. Steve Martin's clownish act in the 70s and early 80s does not stand the test of time and he comes off as a novelty act in episode 1. They somehow make the very funny movie "The Jerk" into a bland footnote. Very disappointing documentary.

Other than enjoying Steve Martin's performances in a few iconic film roles, I knew relatively nothing about the man coming into this documentary-especially as it related to his stand-up comedy career. While "Steve!" certainly filled in a lot of those gaps, I found it to be "just okay" as a three-hour viewing experience in large part because I found one episode to be pretty clearly superior to the other.

The first episode focuses almost exclusively on Martin's childhood and then ascent in the magic/comedy realms-to the point of becoming one of the most popular stand-up performers in the history of the medium. I had absolutely no idea that he had hit those heights and was truly a cultural phenomenon. I really enjoyed this installment and its ending understandably teased a transition to examining Martin's film roles and present-day life.

While that second episode does ostensibly do those things, it does so from a very scattered perspective. Instead of the linear path of its predecessor, episode two is scattered. Martin's film career really isn't the focus-rather the result of reflections from his creation of a comic/sketch book of his life with an illustrator and just ramblings around Los Angeles with buddy Martin Short. There are certainly some stand-out nuggets in this installment (like Martin's newfound family life), but it meanders to the point of potentially being boring to some viewers. Unless you have a vested interest in Martin & Short sitting around swapping cringe-worthy punchlines, this hour-and-a-half might fall a little flat.

Overall, then, I settle on a solid-but-not-spectacular 7/10 star rating for "Steve!" as a whole. Parts of it really struck a chord with me and filled in Martin's "cultural gaps"; other parts were simply too slow and inane for me to identify with.

Like other reviewers, I'm curious to know why the documentary was made in two pieces, other than the fact that it would be very long to watch in one sitting. In my case, viewing the documentary over two days, it definitely showed how Steve's life has changed over the years, certainly for the better. In that way, it's a very hopeful piece, one that proves how it's possible for someone to become more comfortable with who they are, more likeable, more relatable, etc. After seeing how much Steve struggled in the first half of his life, it's very heartwarming to see how much joy his entire life brings him today. Yes, the documentary is long and there are certainly parts that could have been trimmed but, like a lot of Apple TV+ programs, it feels like time well-spent when the final credits roll. Steve! Is an interesting study of a fascinating human being and certainly worth watching.