It’s hard to dislike Steve Martin. Even with the pain he caused with two “Father of the Bride” movies, he is still just so likeable.

This may be because he is one of only a few sincerely funny American celebrities. Even off camera, he is always “on,” ready with a good quip or observation — but not in the annoying “When will this guy shut up?” way of Robin Williams or Jim Carrey.

There is also no doubting his intelligence. Look at the scope of his work, from stand-up comedy to acting to writing, and see, read or hear any interview with Martin, and you will realize that this man does a lot of thinking.

And yet he still finds time for “Three Amigos” and hosting the Academy Awards.

So, with another Oscar night forthcoming (Sunday, March 23) and “Bringing Down the House” now in theaters, it might be a good time to look back at the best work Martin has done.

Early in his film career, he had to prove himself as an actor with range. It was not enough to show he could be funny on the big screen; in his early films — notably in collaboration with director Carl Reiner — he put on a display of the full spectrum of comedic acting.

His first starring role was in 1979’s “The Jerk.” Martin plays bum/jerk/moron Navin Johnson in a very original rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story. While maintaining a clever satire on wealth’s corruption of the innocent, the film manages to pack in a surprising number of memorable lines and situations.

“The Jerk” proved Martin’s ability to fill the screen and present a character strangely complex despite his simplicity.

The film also featured a very successful comic performance by co-star Bernadette Peters (“Slaves of New York”). In a surprise turn, Martin starred with Peters again in his second film, the odd 1981 musical “Pennies From Heaven.”

But he returned quickly to more obviously comic roles, working again with Reiner on 1982’s film noir comedy-mystery homage “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.”

The plot is built around clips of real noir classics starring Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and others spliced into a new, different storyline. Martin’s Det. Rigby Reardon interacts with the old characters convincingly, but with an ironic twist on the original scenes. And this is all done well without digital technology.

Though the humor bounces between extremely dry and absurd, it is a very clever and compelling concept, done very effectively. You’ll find yourself wanting to track down the original films just to see how brilliantly the context has been altered.

Martin and Reiner followed “Plaid” the next year with “The Man with Two Brains.” A much more ridiculous and raucous comedy than either of their prior films, it moved towards “Airplane”-like wackiness. Martin is a brain-specialist with an unpronounceable name who falls in love with a brain with which he communicates telepathically. And the details are even more ridiculous than the premise.

Though still clever, the comedy is deliberately low-brow and visceral. This is more of a laugh-out-loud film than most of Martin’s work, though you may be embarrassed that you are laughing as he throws co-star Kathleen Turner into a lake of mud, yelling, “Into the mud, scum-queen!”

Following the following year’s well-meaning but middling “The Lonely Guy,” Martin teamed again with Reiner, as well as Lily Tomlin, for the semi-romantic comedy “All of Me.”

When a miserly and obnoxious woman (Tomlin) attempts to prolong her existence by transferring her soul into a younger body, she accidentally finds herself sharing the body of lawyer Roger Cobb (Martin).

The story and the romance that ensue are amusing, but the key to the film’s success is Martin’s physical comedy, arguing with himself and dragging himself around while one half of his body is not under his own control.

Pick a weekend and rent Martin’s Reiner-directed quartet, and it will become clear that there are no limits to Martin’s comic range.