Ep1221: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: Leap of Faith (1992)
Kicking the Seat ends its special Holy Week series with one of our favorite traditions: the Good Friday episode of "There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia"!
Today, Ian and Pat look back at one of the most unusual films of Steve Martin's career, the 1992 box office disappointment, Leap of Faith! Moviegoers mostly gave this offbeat dramedy the cold shoulder, but are there signs of redemption 34 years later?
Martin stars as Jonas Nightingale, a traveling huckster who, with his fleet of tour buses, brings a faith-healing and gospel music show to small towns across America. After breaking down in Rustwater, Kansas, Jonas and his crew set up shop for the week--and rake in cash from a financially and spiritually strapped community that's in the throes of a ruinous drought. But what happens when a suspicious sheriff (Liam Neeson) and Jesus himself push Jonas towards a dark night of the soul?
This spoilerific installment features perspectives from a lapsed Catholic who'd never seen the film until show prep, and a recently renewed Catholic who's loved Leap of Faith since seeing it as a teenager.
What follows is a wide-ranging look at faith, doubt, the movies, and how even the seemingly sickest of seeds can yield a humbling crop of salvation.
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Show Links
Watch the Leap of Faith (1992) trailer.
Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.
Listen to Pat's movie reviews on the radio at STAR 96.7.
