THE JERK (1979) *** Of course many white folk long for the freedom of being black, and so Steve Martin has probably plugged more deeply into the collective honkey subsconscious than most of us rhythmically-challenged folk realize. He swings together a story line that moves quickly, points to many very important things along the way, speculates on the double-sided sword of fame and the superficiality of society, does all this without bitterness, and certainly with a smile on its face. Steve Martin has been funnier, but he's very funny, and it's easily overlooked how few actors/writers can pull something off that is hip, crude, and morally uplifting. It takes a special talent and Steve, showing every shade of the two-dimensionality that he refuses to budge from in this effort, is perfect for the job. At least his equal is Bernadette Peters, whose own pouting versatility steals several scenes-the girl can dance and sing and smile and lean over the table in a dinner dress with the best of 'em. Funny too, how Maurice Evans succeeds in an overbearing Shakespearean pompousness, even as the butler and without Elizabeth Montgomery as his daughter. An excellent exhibit for the appealing argument that black people have deeper souls, stronger family ties, more social freedom, and a helluva better time.