Steve Martin has two new movies in theaters over the next few weeks, the domestic comedy "Father of the Bride," which opened Friday, and the more serious, introspective "Grand Canyon," opening locally Jan. 17.
In the former, Martin is the star, as a fortysomething self-employed businessman about to lose his daughter in marriage, and the latter casts him in a supporting role as a self-absorbed, puffed-up movie producer who is struck down by tragedy and changed. Sort of.Both are fully developed characters in major studio films that are opening during one of the industry's most crucial times of the year. And Martin is a selling point for both movies.
All of which illustrates just how far Martin has come from "The Jerk."
His first starring debut in 1979, "The Jerk" was little more than a simple-minded series of vulgar yahoo skits gleaned from Martin's standup act. And I remember pronouncing him at the time as little more than a Jerry Lewis for the '80s.
In recent years, however, I've munched on crow as Steve Martin the actor has grown in such recent successes as "All of Me," "Roxanne" and "Parenthood."
"I'm more mature, I've had more experience," Martin said during round-robin interviews at Walt Disney World for "Father of the Bride." "And I would hesitate to settle and say, `This is my style.' I think I've changed and grown in every movie - grown up or down, I don't know.
"I remember talking to Chuck Grodin when we did `The Lonely Guy,' and I said, `Charles, I don't know how to be funny in a movie. When I was on stage I knew how to be funny, but I don't know how to be funny in a movie.'
"But now I feel like I do. When I did standup, I was completely, 100 percent confident. And now I feel that way again about film. Before, I felt I was all over the place, and now I feel like I know what I'm doing."
"Father of the Bride" is a remake of the 1950 comedy that starred Spencer Tracy in the role Martin now plays. And it isn't lost on Martin that he's remaking a film many consider a classic. "You have a lot of feelings, it's something you worry about, and then it goes away. Aslong as there's something new to say - and I think there is - it's not just doing it again.
"Also, I think there's an analogy with plays. Because Richard Burton does `Hamlet' doesn't mean you never do it again. And I think that the movie industry is still defining itself. It's a very new industry, new to this century, and we're still figuring out how it's going to work."
What attracted him to "Father of the Bride" was the script's blend of farce and human drama. He says the story taps universal themes, though Martin and his wife, actress Victoria Tennant, don't have kids of their own. "No children; cats." After a pause, he adds that if one of his cats got married, "I'd have exactly the same emotions."
Martin's own wedding was small and quiet. "It was a justice of the peace wedding in Rome - no wedding party, no reception, just us." But of the film's marriage ceremony, he says, "It gives a credence to it all and makes the ceremony significant. As you watch the movie and hear the vows again, it's kind of stirring. It's a ritual that is meaningful."
After playing the father of young children in "Parenthood," the 46-year-old actor said the first thing that struck him about the script was that he'd be playing the father of a 22-year-old woman. "When you get the script, you say, `Wait a minute, I can't play a . . . oh, yes I can.'
"But I don't let those kind of things stop me. I just don't think about those things." Martin then feigns a pompous voice: "Oh, no, I want to play opposite young girls; I want to look young.' "
Asked how he'd feel about playing a grandfather, if the sequel - "Father's Little Dividend" - were to be remade, he replies, "If there's a sequel, I'll think about that when the times comes."
Of his role in "Grand Canyon," about disillusioned people in modern Los Angeles, Martin says, "It's a serious movie. I don't know how to define the role, I'll have to leave that to others, because I don't know if it's comic or not. I think of it as serious.
"There are some laughs in it, but I get shot and there's all kinds of things happening. It's a very serious, and I think, an important movie - very powerful stuff. It's an ensemble cast; very dark. I'm not the star of `Grand Canyon,' I'm in the movie for 15 minutes. It's a cameo."
Martin has also completed "Housesitter," a comedy with Goldie Hawn, scheduled to open during the summer. And then, it's time for a vacation.
"I'm laying off for awhile. I was on a roll this year - it wasn't intended, it just kind of happened."
And you can bet the studios are glad it did. You can also bet they'll be trying to keep Martin's vacation as short as possible.