Leap of Faith (1992)

Wow!! I literally don't know how I feel about this film. It is not a comedy in my opinion. It seems to be a soul search by two religious scam artists, Steve Martin and Debra Winger. They play two scam artist evangelicals who go from big town to big town and make big bucks. Their bus breaks down in a podunk town in need of a rain miracle. They still try to scam the extremely destitute folks out of what little money they have left. They set up a huge revival tent complete with all the fixings including lights, a whole lot of chairs, a rather disturbing white Jesus statute (Jesus was a Semite and was not white by any stretch of the imagination). Meatloaf plays the bus driver and keyboard player and does a good job in the role. Liam Neeson plays the sheriff of the town and sees right through the scam artists but has a hard time convincing the populace. In the end Martin leaves because he can not explain the healing of a crippled teen. He is on a semi out of town when it starts to rain hard. So the town and the crops are saved but is Martin turned to the good???

This was almost a good movie. It started out as a very honest portrayal of the hucksterism and con jobs that all religion relies on, only to fall victim to schmalz and a fairy tale ending that destroyed all of the footwork leading up to it. This could have been an important movie on par with "Elmer Gantry" if the writers and director had just resisted the urge to sabotage their own work. Steve Martin played the huckster role with genius and Debra Winger appears in far too few movies, but in reality, hucksters of this caliber never reform, if that's the right word, until scandal brings them down, and people DO get disgusted with fleecing the innocent withOUT having to believe in mythical beings. Too bad.This movie could have had some meaning if they had just stuck to real world.

All good comedians, are good drama actors.It'd been a while since I saw this movie, and I had the chance to get it, yesterday. For starters, Steve Martin was great (as he usually does), so the supporting cast.One of the many reasons I love this movie is that it show us, graciously, a reality that many people couldn't or wouldn't accept (One of the reasons , I think, its low rate).Do not let fanaticism cloud your judgment.Nevertheless, if you like good stories with a nice in-message, or if you're just a fan of Mr. Martin, you can't miss this one.

LEAP OF FAITH takes an interesting premise but doesn't quite know what to do with it. Steve Martin is Jonas Nightingale, a fraudulent faith healer more interested in money and women then doing the Lord's work as he and his crew criss-cross the country putting on big tent revivals. A largely overlooked film, LEAP OF FAITH tries hard to blend some promising comedic elements with drama, but they mix about as well as oil and water. The film is also far too long, repetitive and lacking direction. Martin as the Elmer Gantryish star puts forth his usual likable effort, but even his considerable talents can't lift this one over the hump. A disappointment.