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Steve Martin is not, as the catchphrase from his stand-up days goes, “a wild and crazy guy”. Beneath his exuberant, elastic onstage persona as the world’s foremost banjo-playing, prop-wielding comic there was always a shyness, quiet melancholy and solemn professionalism. Since his breakthrough in the late 1970s through to his Hollywood success, he has successfully managed to stay out of the public eye, inscrutable even to colleagues. As one of his contemporaries put it, “talking to Steve Martin is like talking to nobody”.
It’s something of a surprise then that Martin has decided to share his life story and reflect on his reticence in a new A24-produced Apple TV+ special — a two-part, 191-minute epic. Self-described as “an antidote to the anodyne interviews [and] generic things I’ve talked about a million times”, STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces is a film to relish — both by fans of the platinum-selling comedy records and those who know him best as Selena Gomez’s avuncular co-star in Hulu’s ongoing series Only Murders in the Building.
Unlike many of the celebrity biographies that have saturated the small screen of late, STEVE! is not a tell-all confessional, scandal-laden psychodrama or glossy PR exercise. The film is a playful, poignant and refreshingly understated profile of a thoroughly amiable individual. Presented as a filmic diptych depicting “Then” and “Now”, it begins as a self-narrated, archive-led panorama of his formative years and career before giving way to an intimate, present-day portrait.
The former — a trove of home videos, diaries, scripts, early TV appearances and clips from legendary routines — not only showcases the idiosyncratic brilliance of Martin’s comedy but finds him thoughtfully explaining how he sought to deconstruct joke structures, transcend political satire and send up showbiz tropes with his madcap performances. This personal, often self-deprecating commentary is far more enjoyable than a procession of famous peers paying tribute.
Yet it’s the second part that really gives us a sense of the man. While he clearly has his reservations about letting a film crew into his home — amusing cartoons illustrating his anxieties appear periodically — he is open and vulnerable when talking about his experience of loneliness and his cold, implacable father. Moments in which he winces while listening to a tape recording of an old set — “bigger laugh than it deserved” — or tears while revisiting the ending of the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles are disarming and seem unaffected.
Still, the prevailing emotion that runs through the last hour is one of contentment and calm. After years of isolation, professional stress and familial disappointment, the 78-year-old is a happily married, doting father, and a comedian rejuvenated through his new collaboration with best friend Martin Short. Scenes of the two veterans making each other giggle as they workshop material for a stand-up show is the purest of joy.
★★★★☆
On Apple TV+ from March 29
