You dared to suggest that Steve Martin wasn't funny?!?! Madness! I've never particularly enjoyed his work, apart from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.... and there were much funnier men from around that time in the industry. Having said that, I watched some of his Masterclass the other day and he does understand humour and comedy quite well, there is method to his branding -but I prefer Bill Murray, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Chevy Chase from that era.

I'd put Martin on a par with Dan Ackroyd - they feel like they do comedy well as the straight man in a duo with a less serious performer. This is far harder than it looks and comedy works better with those sorts of skills flying under the radar. I think I broadly agree with you - but with the caveat that there may be more going on under the surface than we realise. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is two 'straight men' with moments of silly and so Martin's light is shining much brighter than perhaps in other films.

Anyone other than Reuben who is reading this reply can go here https://medium.com/fan-fare/im-sorry-but-steve-martin-is-not-funny-8789aa52e9f5

You'll get to see Reuben getting ripped to shit in the comments. He's too much of a gentleman to post a link here, but he really should've done. :o)