Leap of Faith

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Leap of Faith

PG-13

Released Dec 15, 1992

1h 48m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

64%

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22 Reviews

46%

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10,000+ Ratings

Touring Christian evangelist Jonas Nightengale (Steve Martin) and his cohorts tend to put on their bogus faith-healing revivals in major cities, where hefty donations flow freely. But, when Jonas and company find themselves stuck in a remote nook of Kansas, they decide to perform for the locals and take them for all they are worth. The shows go off without a hitch, until sensible lawman Will Braverman (Liam Neeson) catches on to the scam and vows to prove to everyone that Jonas is a fake.

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Critics Consensus

Steve Martin's layered performance transcends the somewhat undercooked narrative of Leap of Faith.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

The movie is lively but half-baked: it dribbles away its promising subject. Some Christmas feast this has turned out to be: it's like munching on leftovers.

Mar 4, 2019

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The movie itself has considerable qualities, among them Martin's performance as Nightengale. This isn't the sleek, groomed, prosperous Steve Martin we've seen in movies like L.A. Story. It's Martin as a seedy, desperate, bright, greedy man without hope.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 13, 2001

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 4.5/5

Feb 13, 2001

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Lolita Davidovich leads a wonderful supporting cast that includes Liam Neeson, Lukas Haas, Meatloaf, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 13, 2020

Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Dances back and forth across genre lines to memorable but mixed effect.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 22, 2019

Full Review

Quentin Curtis

Independent on Sunday

It's half a good film, only lacking the courage of its cynicism.

Dec 12, 2017

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Stephen C

Unfunny in 1 hour and 48 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $21,700,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/19/25

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Philip c

worth it for Steve Martins performance and the incredible performances by the choir

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/28/24

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Harold A

A one off from Mr. Martin - sure it is a simple message and not up to everyone’s standards. It is also something you may want to watch with preteen and have a discussion about Faith and just happenstance. The entourage is completely believable as the type of personalities that you’ll see except this one had a variety of up-and-coming stars. Seems like a movie that was made with good people by someone that just wanted to get a little message out there that was positive.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/10/24

Full Review

Thriver M

“Spo!ler” alert: butterflies live maybe a month or two; movie relies on the very smoke and mirrors shallowness that its theme purports to reveal. The choir was the best part. The tap dancing around use of knowledge about people, for good or for evil, for better or for worse was quick and sharp. Steve Martin’s performance is dazzlingly kinetic AND it takes up far too much of the movie…he just had to get more time for his physical humor, perhaps the director was a tad to smitten with it also? Debra Winger’s brown eyes’ and LIam Neeson’s (misspelled likely) deep voiced earnestnesses don’t make up for the shallowness of the film except for a minute or two here and there. Oh and Lukas Haas’ big brown eyes too. Such a good cast but couldn’t carry the weak plot. There are “Miracles” in reality and this film contained none of them except perhaps the choir’s ability to levitate folks’ soul.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/07/24

Full Review

KB B

This was such an engaging movie with good acting and script. I saw it years ago when it first came out and checked it out again. The ending leaves a lot to be desired but I still enjoyed the movie. It's definitely worth the watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/12/24

Full Review

Sheri M

Really quite good. 👍🏻

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

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Richard Pearce

Director

Steve Martin

Jonas Nightengale

Debra Winger

Jane Larson

Lolita Davidovich

Marva

Liam Neeson

Sheriff Will Braverman

Lukas Haas

Boyd

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - Got Trouble?

1:56

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - You Need a Real Sinner

1:58

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - Boyd Walks

1:45

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - All That Boy Has is Faith

1:35

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - Scamming a Cop

1:58

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - The Rain Comes

1:41

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - Why'd You Make So Many Suckers?

1:53

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - Supercharged Grenade Launcher of Love

2:13

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - Butterflies

1:22

Leap of Faith: Official Clip - Acting Like a Loser

1:32

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Synopsis

Touring Christian evangelist Jonas Nightengale (Steve Martin) and his cohorts tend to put on their bogus faith-healing revivals in major cities, where hefty donations flow freely. But, when Jonas and company find themselves stuck in a remote nook of Kansas, they decide to perform for the locals and take them for all they are worth. The shows go off without a hitch, until sensible lawman Will Braverman (Liam Neeson) catches on to the scam and vows to prove to everyone that Jonas is a fake.

Director: Richard Pearce
Producer: Michael Manheim, David V. Picker
Screenwriter: Janus Cercone
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 1992, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.7M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround

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