Leap of Faith (1992)

Fake faith healer Jonas Nightingale is stranded in a small town where he finds he can't fool all of the people all of the time.

Director:

Richard Pearce

Writer:

Janus Cercone

Stars:

Steve Martin, Debra Winger, Lolita Davidovich

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	Jonas
Debra Winger	...	Jane
Lolita Davidovich	...	Marva
Liam Neeson	...	Will
Lukas Haas	...	Boyd
Meat Loaf	...	Hoover
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Matt
M.C. Gainey	...	Tiny
LaChanze	...	Georgette
Delores Hall	...	Ornella
John Toles-Bey	...	Titus
Albertina Walker	...	Lucille
Ricky Dillard	...	Ricky
Vince Davis	...	Roger
Troy Evans	...	Dade

Storyline

Jonas is a fraudulent faith healer, who uses all the tricks in the book to con the people attending his shows. Jonas and his team of helpers, including Jane who is in need of some romance, travel the country stopping at big towns and cities to put on their show. When one of the trucks breaks down in a small town, Jonas is quick to accept the challenge of making money in this town. His other goal is to seduce Marva, a waitress in the town, but she's a hard nut to crack, as is Will, the local sheriff who's determined to expose Jonas as a fraud.

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Plot Keywords:

truck | faith healer | religion exploitation | faith | fraud | 

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Taglines:

Real miracles, sensibly priced.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Schein-Heilige

Filming Locations:

Building One, Studios at Las Colinas - 6301 North O'Connor Road, Irving, Texas, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$23,369,283

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 95 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

2.5 years after the release of the movie, the United States witnessed it's most influential Christian revival event that lasted 5 years in Pensacola, Florida (1995 - 2000). Dubbed the Brownsville Revival, a one week, Tuesday through Saturday event brought in 2.5 million people.

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Goofs

During the first "healing" sequence, Jonas addresses the woman who needs a job. Meanwhile, his assistants ready another audience member, a blonde woman in a blue dress, at the opposite side of the stage. However, in the next shot, the blonde woman has been replaced by the "gambling man" who Jonas picked out of the audience earlier.

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Quotes

Jonas: You can't have it both ways.

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Crazy Credits

During the closing credits, the 'Angels of Mercy' singers are shown singing to a tent full of people (including some of the cast members).

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: A Few Good Men/The Muppet Christmas Carol/Leap of Faith/Passion Fish (1992)

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Soundtracks

Yakety Yak
by Jerry Leiber (as Jerry Lieber) and Mike Stoller

User Reviews

Salvation lies within...

A masterpiece of both the secular and the Godly were mixed in this amazingly wonderful movie. Steve Martin is at his absolute best playing con man faith healer Jonas Nightingale. His approach as a con man/faith healer/snake oil salesman is 100% believable. With some of the most beautiful gospel music, and a fantastic story about true faith, Leap of Faith is truly one of the most incredible movies of life and healing. I gave it a 10.