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Richard Pearce's "Leap of Faith" (1992) with Steve Martin Review by
Dr. Edward N. Peters If you saved $7 by passing on "Leap of Faith" when it was
released in 1992 thinking you would wait until it arrived in video stores,
congratulations. Now, save $3 more and pass it up on the video shelf. After hoodwinking a
Catholic cop, Steve Martin's quasi-Christian circus truck blows a gasket in
Kansas, whereupon he and his band of suspects decide to ply their trade in a
nearby little town while waiting for spare parts. Easy picking that town, right?
Right. Of all the characters we meet, only the town sheriff is developed with
any care. He is, of course, the only local brave enough to finger Martin the con
man. But notice Hollywood's implicit lesson: it takes a representative of the
state to serve as a barrier between religious rip-off artists and the honest
people of America. The admittedly fascinating process of erecting a big top fills a few minutes of screen time, but it's not much of an improvement over a similar scene in the cartoon classic "Dumbo." A Gospel choir performs acceptably, but they're no match for the James Brown number in "Blues Brothers." Martin tries a couple of frenetic dances in the Spirit, but the "happy feet" are showing their age. There is little to interest Catholics here: a couple of gratuitous digs
at the Church (Martin warns his tent people that they'll never learn about sin
from "paleskinned virgin priests") and the mandatory bus load of
nuns arriving to pay homage to Martin's winking Jesus statue. (Why doesn't our
sheriff think to check the statue for fresh paint?) A much-needed rainstorm finally drenches the parched cornfields, and
naturally middle America assumes it to be Martin's miracle. Poor dumb middle
America. This article originally appeared in The Southern Cross (October 1993) |
