Steve!

Being deliberately unfunny hoping to get laughs seems a doomed strategy for a standup comedian but eventually it worked for Steve Martin. The first comedian to fill arenas he then went on to a very successful movie career endearing audiences with his everyman persona. The second part of this two-episode series takes us inside Martin's private life to some extent, though he is understandably protective of his family. His relationship with his cold and distant father, for whom he never seemed to be good enough, explains much of the sad clown he became. A bachelor for most of his career, Martin became a father only late in life. We are taken inside his writing collaboration with Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building as well as his fascination for art collecting and banjo playing. Steve Martin is a wild and crazy (but also loveable) guy and this documentary is an excellent record of his achievements and a tribute to the perseverance of his artistry.

Beautiful documentary. It is filled with kindness. Very few people I love and respect as Steve Martin, he is in the company of Tom Hanks, Jeff Goldblum, Conan O'Brien...His life story is both a hardship and a triumph of man. There is wisdom in the film, about work, family, friendship, love. I learned about him so much from it for which I am grateful. I read the other comments on it, some find it boring or just simply bad, I should learn from Steve Martin and should not say bad things about others, I just wish they watched a marvel action movie instead if they wanted a lot of action. I cannot understand how could they not find treasure upon treasure in this. I hope Martin Short will live as long as, at least as, Steve Martin will, I wouldn't want a world where he stops creating. This is not a perfect film but it is for me. Thank you for making it.

This doco is like Steve's comedy. It's a beautiful, fascinating story about how Steve became who he is today. I'm amazed by his struggles as a performer in the early days and how resilient he was to continue on. Above all, I appreciate how wholesome and uplifting this was... a little like Steve's humour. He doesn't need to dive in to dark places, insult people or get too political. Neither does this doco. I would only recommend this to those who are Steve Martin fans, would like a bit of nostalgia and an insight into who he is. Watching this brought back those feelings of simpler times. I miss those days.

I found the first part of the docuseries real inspiring, hilarious and a great look into the grit and discipline of Steve Martin. It was a great look into his genius. I thought the first episode was very compelling engaging and well strewn together.

I found the second episode to be really sweet, you got to know the man behind the mystery. Some great themes were thrown out there into the void. Loneliness. Dealing with failure. Love and marriage. Community. Friendship. Unfortunately none of them were too deeply explored. Left the second part feeling pretty aimless in my opinion. They were just randomly, briefly spoken of. I found myself getting pretty distracted while watching it. It was edited really poorly in my opinion. Lacked any sort of narrative flow.

Like other reviewers, I'm curious to know why the documentary was made in two pieces, other than the fact that it would be very long to watch in one sitting. In my case, viewing the documentary over two days, it definitely showed how Steve's life has changed over the years, certainly for the better. In that way, it's a very hopeful piece, one that proves how it's possible for someone to become more comfortable with who they are, more likeable, more relatable, etc. After seeing how much Steve struggled in the first half of his life, it's very heartwarming to see how much joy his entire life brings him today. Yes, the documentary is long and there are certainly parts that could have been trimmed but, like a lot of Apple TV+ programs, it feels like time well-spent when the final credits roll. Steve! Is an interesting study of a fascinating human being and certainly worth watching.