, the film was written by Steve Martin
, Carl Gottlieb
and Michael Elias. This was Steve Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also features Bernadette Peters
, M. Emmet Walsh
and Jackie Mason
.
The film begins with Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin
), a homeless bum, directly addressing the camera and telling his story. He is the adopted white son of African American sharecroppers
, who grows to adulthood naïvely unaware of his obvious adoption.
Good luck. The Lord loves a working man, don't trust whitey, see a doctor and get rid of it. Bye Grandma!
These cans are defective!
The new phonebook's here, the new phonebook's here!
For one dollar I'll guess your weight, your height, or your sex.
Huh? 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.
[singing] I'm picking out a Thermos for you. Not an ordinary Thermos for you. But the extra best Thermos that you can buy, with vinyl and stripes and a cup built right in.
First I get my name in the phone book and now I'm on your ass. You know, I'll bet more people see that than the phone book.