‘Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces’ Review: A Sprawling Portrait Splits the Comedian’s Career, Saving the Payoff for the Second Half

variety.com:

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Why does Steve Martin need a two-part documentary? He doesn’t, of course, although Martin himself divided his career into separate chapters, any one of which could support its own film — stand-up comedian, Hollywood movie star, playwright, novelist, bluegrass musician and most recently, “Only Murders in the Building” co-creator and star — so fans aren’t likely to complain about getting extra time with such a private subject.

Normally, a documentarian with access to a celebrity of Martin’s caliber would pick a focus, or else try to generate some kind of career-encompassing overview.

Not Morgan Neville, the Oscar-winning director who so poignantly profiled children’s TV host Fred Rogers in “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” While similarly beloved, Martin isn’t such an open book, despite having written with self-deprecating candor about the obstacles and inspirations to his comedy career in his memoir, “Born Standing Up.” For this Apple TV+ exclusive, Neville attempts something wholly unconventional, splitting the project into two distinct feature-length pieces, “Then” and “Now,” which take radically different forms.

The first part is a fairly straightforward, largely archival look at the first half of Martin’s life, featuring rare journals and personal recordings from his childhood in Orange County, Calif. (where he dreamed of being a magician and scored an early job at Disneyland), to the moment he decided to step away from stand-up comedy altogether.