Steve Martin Takes the AFI

The American Film Institute has decided to honor Steve Martin, the star of The Jerk, All of Me, Roxanne, Father of the Bride, and Bowfinger, with the American Film Institute's 43rd Lifetime Achievement Award.  This means that Mr. Martin has won the second leg of the Life Achievement Triple Crown, and is probably only a couple of years away from completing the trifecta (the AFI was going to be his most difficult "get").

I will admit, quite frankly, that Mr. Martin isn't who I probably would have gone to first (or at all) for this award, though this is hardly unexpected.  Don't get me wrong-Steve Martin is an absolutely hilarious man, a talented actor, and a comedian of the highest order, but his filmic contributions have never quite felt as significant as the entertainment industry (who clearly worships the guy) has made them out to be.  For starters, he is the first AFI Award winner ever to not be an Academy Award nominee (he did win the Honorary Oscar last year, but I wasn't sold on that one either), and his cinematic contributions are pretty limited.  Aside from the films above, you have Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, LA Story, and a few more hits from the 80's and 90's, but surely nothing particularly significant when you compare him to recent winners like Jane Fonda, Mel Brooks, and Shirley MacLaine, who defined decades of cinema and had an endless list of bonafide classics (while I'd argue that really only The Jerk really has hit that level of importance).

Still though, I don't want to insult Mr. Martin's achievement too badly, but I do think that this is one of those situations where an extremely talented guy is getting awards more out of "we all want to honor him" than anything else.