Comedy on the edge

Steve Martin, "The Jerk"

Consider Martin’s clueless Navin R. Johnson a distant cinematic cousin of Downey’s racially confused thespian. Raised by a black family in Mississippi, Johnson is utterly shocked when his adoptive mother reveals that he is not her biological son. A risqué comic highlight occurs after Navin balks at a shady financial adviser’s use of the “n-word,” and proclaims, “you are talking to a [n-word],” before busting out some kung fu moves on the bigot.

Does he go too far?: Surprisingly, even after Michael Richards’ shameful comedy-club rant, Martin’s work still earns laughs.