The Pink Panther Movies

[Zbu Manowar]

Okay, I went to the IMDB to see just when Steve Martin's career collapsed. I remember him being a funny man (not a very funny one) but somewhere along the line his career just....well, fell though the floor, broke its legs, and died while trying to climb the stairs in a puddle of his own feces and blood.

But looking at his filmography is quite revealing. His career isn't a curve or a plateau as a bunch of luck. Out of about twenty or thirty movies he had, only three I could classify as being funny:

THE JERK
THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS
PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES

And these had a bunch of unfunny years in between. But since 1988 (right after PLANES, TRAINS....) his career took a downward slide when all of a sudden he decided he could do drama. He jinxed himself and spat in the face of what he had going for him: a lot of supposed cred from his SNL days which he milked for all that it was worth. But still...we got these stinkers:

Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) .... Mr. Chairman
Bringing Down the House (2003) .... Peter Sanderson
Novocaine (2001) .... Dr. Frank Sangster
Joe Gould's Secret (2000) .... Charlie Duell
Fantasia/2000 (1999) .... Host (Film Introduction)
Bowfinger (1999) .... Bobby Bowfinger
Out-of-Towners, The (1999) .... Henry Clark
Prince of Egypt, The (1998) (voice) .... Hotep
Spanish Prisoner, The (1997) .... Julian 'Jimmy' Dell
Sgt. Bilko (1996) .... MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko
Father of the Bride Part II (1995) .... George Banks
Mixed Nuts (1994) .... Philip
Simple Twist of Fate, A (1994) .... Michael McCann
And the Band Played On (1993) (TV) .... The Brother
Leap of Faith (1992) .... Jonas Nightingale
HouseSitter (1992) .... Newton Davis
Grand Canyon (1991) .... Davis
Father of the Bride (1991) .... George Stanley Banks
L.A. Story (1991) .... Harris K. Telemacher
My Blue Heaven (1990) .... Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli
Parenthood (1989) .... Gil Buckman
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) .... Freddy Benson

All of these suck (with the possible exclusion of Mixed Nuts, but that was 1) an ensemble piece (not strictly him) and 2) a failure at the box office which means it belongs here). And notice that most of them are either forgotten or your standard B-movie fodder. So he does suck.....only his delusions of grandeur of going to drama (Carreyitis) truly sunk his career.