The Jerk

Audio problem: During the duet "Tonight You Belong to Me" on the beach, Steve Martin is strumming the ukulele out of time with the audio, and he's not making the correct chord changes on the fingerboard. You can also see his mouth bungle the lyrics, although the overdubbed audio is fine.

Charles Austin Miller

Revealing mistake: When the sniper is shooting the cans, the close-up of the first can shows the metal peeling out as though the bullet had come from inside instead of outside.

More mistakes in The Jerk

Mother: Navin, it's your birthday, and it's time you knew. You're not our natural-born child.
Navin R. Johnson: I'm not? You mean I'm gonna stay this color?

More quotes from The Jerk
More trivia for The Jerk

Answer: Navin self-applies the "Jerk" epithet early in the film, using it not in the sense of someone obnoxious or mean (as it is used in most cases), but in the sense of a stupid person. He's saying he blames himself and his lack of intelligence (though, as you say, it is usually simple naïveté) for ending up where he is (broke, homeless).

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