The 1992 movie stars comedian Steve Martin as an evangelical preacher (Jonas Nightengale) who tours the countryside with his entourage in a group of buses, spreading the gospel…and collecting tribute along the way. Jonas doesn't believe in the word, just in making a living off those he sees as bumpkins across America. He uses a combination of technology and charisma to convince people at his shows that he's the real deal and that they can essentially buy their way into Heaven by following him. Along the way, he encounters precious little resistance because by-and-large, people want to believe.

Times are tough and any glimmer of hope they can cling to is worth anything they have to give. As Jonas and his crew, including his manager Jane (Debra Winger), prepare to fleece this flock, the only one standing in their way is the local sheriff (Liam Neeson) who sees right through Jonas' con. He feels obligated to protect them from themselves, knowing that the lack of rain, and harsh economic realities, have struck this small town in Kansas so hard that the people aren't thinking straight. As time progresses, he strikes up a relationship of sorts with Jane even as he uses any means necessary, including confronting Jonas during one of his sermons, all of which fail to dissuade the townsfolk from following the glitzy performer-turned-conman.

Jonas is not without his distractions as well. He falls for a local waitress, Marva (Lolita Davidovich), who's younger brother, Boyd (Lukas Haas), is found to be a cripple, left that way by a drunk trucker years prior. She believes in nothing since her faith has long gone the wayside after repeated disappointments have left her cold to the world at large. Boyd knows in his heart that Jonas is a fake, having witnessed one of his slight-of-hand tricks firsthand, but something tells him the guy may well be the answer to his troubles. In essence, Boyd makes a "leap of faith" that goes beyond what those around him are capable of. Will it help? Will he convert the conman with his admiration and faith? Those are questions you'll have to watch the movie to answer.

I liked the light-hearted tone much of the movie took. While it was base in how it portrayed the good folks in what is commonly referred to as "The American Heartland" and even more sinister in how it paints preachers with a broad brush, it did interject a lot of subtle humor into the movie that otherwise might've fallen into a common trap such movies fall prey to, becoming a melodrama. Jonas, for all his cynicism and world-weariness, is still a charmer even as the scoundrel that he portrays. Martin brings a lot of his own stand-up routine into the character and that made it all the more fun to watch. Martin was made for this role and while Winger, Haas, and Davidovich were the only other main actors that "fit" their roles, they did a solid job with the material presented them.

Neeson, on the other hand, was very much out of place here. This was supposed to be Middle America and an actor with an English accent didn't work. The best moments of the movie, for me at least, were when Jonas rebuffs the sheriff but I think a better choice might've made it more believable. Part of the problem here related to the script as well since almost all the attention was obviously given to Martin's character, at the expense of the others here. If anything, the romantic side plots seemed added on after the fact rather than integrated into the story from the beginning (probably in order to make the movie more appealing to women).

The central theme of redemption was handled in an interesting manner as well. Jonas, Marva, Jane, and even Boyd, all had their own failings that the theme could be applied to. While the writer did address some of the potential the situation offered, he dropped the ball by not finishing it off when given a chance. Further, the ending was mostly a cop-out that left me unsatisfied. Is religion bad? Is there value to the blind faith so many people show their belief systems? Should the sheriff have interfered with the will of his constituents? Each of these questions was answered to some extent but not well enough to make me really like the movie as much as I could have. Similarly, the way the people are essentially looked down upon as rubes, says a lot about the mindset of the writer and director towards average folk across the country. To sum it up, I think the movie was worth a rating of Rent It although fans of Martin will want to buy it since this was among his best performances.

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.85:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen color. The picture did have a lot of grain, particularly in the darker scenes, and some over saturation as well. There was some aliasing and moiré effect as well as some motion artifacts once in awhile. Lastly, I noticed some video noise at times, again during the darker scenes.

Sound: The sound was presented with a choice of a remastered 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track or a 2.0 track. There was some separation between the channels but nothing exceptionally great. The vocals were clear and the soundtrack was very well done.

Extras: There wasn't so much as a trailer.

Final Thoughts: I liked this movie more when I saw it in the theatre back over ten years ago but the story had enough to like to suggest it as a rental. There were some problems with the picture but the sound was pretty solid. Martin's performance combined several aspects I liked as well and if you're not afraid of the religious angle, especially in terms that are not favorable, you too may like the show. It's worth a look but my experience is that most people either really like it or really hate it.