Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces

Other than enjoying Steve Martin's performances in a few iconic film roles, I knew relatively nothing about the man coming into this documentary-especially as it related to his stand-up comedy career. While "Steve!" certainly filled in a lot of those gaps, I found it to be "just okay" as a three-hour viewing experience in large part because I found one episode to be pretty clearly superior to the other.

The first episode focuses almost exclusively on Martin's childhood and then ascent in the magic/comedy realms-to the point of becoming one of the most popular stand-up performers in the history of the medium. I had absolutely no idea that he had hit those heights and was truly a cultural phenomenon. I really enjoyed this installment and its ending understandably teased a transition to examining Martin's film roles and present-day life.

While that second episode does ostensibly do those things, it does so from a very scattered perspective. Instead of the linear path of its predecessor, episode two is scattered. Martin's film career really isn't the focus-rather the result of reflections from his creation of a comic/sketch book of his life with an illustrator and just ramblings around Los Angeles with buddy Martin Short. There are certainly some stand-out nuggets in this installment (like Martin's newfound family life), but it meanders to the point of potentially being boring to some viewers. Unless you have a vested interest in Martin & Short sitting around swapping cringe-worthy punchlines, this hour-and-a-half might fall a little flat.

Overall, then, I settle on a solid-but-not-spectacular 7/10 star rating for "Steve!" as a whole. Parts of it really struck a chord with me and filled in Martin's "cultural gaps"; other parts were simply too slow and inane for me to identify with.