“Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Features” is directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, who also directed the highly successful Fred Rogers film “Will You Be My Neighbor?” I am the director. It's produced as a glossy Apple Original by the enviably hip indie production company A24. And if sheer volume is an indicator, the decision to split the film into two featurettes, titled “Then” (94 minutes) and “Now” (97 minutes), shows just how serious Neville is about comedians. Helps you understand what you are thinking. Considered by many to be, or was, the funniest man in the world.
However, this approach has a drawback: it produces two completely different parts. The first “After” is pretty standard fare, from an under-appreciated support gig where he fights for the approval of his emotionally withdrawn father, to a sell-out, with Martin gradually establishing himself as a stand-up. The book covers this period in amusing yet repetitive detail. The whole stadium. Martin's narration is straightforward, revealing nothing in particular except an odd combination of honesty and modesty. He simply doesn't seem to like looking back, making him a rather reluctant companion on this archival journey through his early years. The tour guide takes us past admiring monuments that we don't really feel connected to, and we can't wait to go home for lunch.
Lunch is two poached eggs on toast, which he prepares to start a more appealing “now.” This second episode dips in and out of Martin's film career, offering a tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale of hubris (“Pennys from Heaven'' and “Mixed Nuts'') more than his many successes. has a lot to say. The film includes interviews with Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, Adam Gopnik, and Eric Idle, all of whom, as well as Martin himself, believe that his characters are He agrees that he shares with the author a quality of melancholy and longing.
“And the only one who can solve it is [longing]'' says Faye irresistibly, “It's Martin Short.'' Much of the fun of “Now'' comes from the candid moments between Martin and his best friend Short. Both have enjoyed newfound popularity with the TV hit “Only Murders in the Building,” and have collaborated on a two-person play they've been workshopping. Lines like “He's got all the sex appeal of a hot dog burp trapped inside a face mask.”
The two films could have been combined into one tighter, more effective feature, but even if branching and a bit baggy, Steve! This is a portrait of a smart, charming man who is timeless and carefully avoids badmouthing anyone but himself. Admittedly, there's very little amorous parts here. Martin's divorce is mentioned briefly and without rancor. Falling in love over the phone with a New Yorker fact-checker is empirically funny, but both his courtships with his wife, Anne, are portrayed frankly. He politely insisted that his 9-year-old daughter not appear on screen, and when he flipped through the script for “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles'' and came across a monologue addressed to the late John Candy, he decided he wanted the film. I was genuinely confused. Tears suddenly hit him.
It's strange to find a celebrity's natural reticence to be such an attractive quality. But we've heard plenty of stories about greedy masses devouring what they love. All it takes is the slightest crack in the armor, and fame can creep in like a man-eating microbe. Steve Martin is inspiring in that he avoided that, even if it only meant closing off parts of himself, no matter what loneliness it brought him along the way, this pioneering comedy legend's It's great to see everything turn around in a beautifully satisfying and creative third installment. Activities. This time, he got to enjoy being funny just for the sake of having fun.
Television MA. Streaming on Apple TV Plus starting March 29th. Contains mild foul language and sexual language. 191 minutes.