Customer Reviews

The Out of Towners / Leap of Faith (Double Feature)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was a kid, my favorite movie was "The Music Man". I must have seen it in the theater at least a dozen times. I loved the story of the con man who got caught in his own con and I experienced the same joy watching Steve Martin do his own version of Prof. Harold Hill (now Jonas Nightengale) in "Leap of Faith."

This movie was truly misunderstood by most critics who tried to compare it -unfavorably- with such films as "Elmer Gantry" or characterize it as a statement on televangelism. They also focused too heavily on the emotional, and therefore, "unrealistic" ending. Even worse, the studio mis-marketed the film, and you'll often find it in the comedy section of the video store. Warning: it is not a comedy. Yes, there are light moments- how can there not be with Steve Martin- but this film is much richer than a typical Steve Martin comedy.

Steve Martin's performance is superb and magical and should have been nominated for an Oscar. The film score is tremendous with some of the best gospel singers in the country providing the music- not to mention Meatloaf! Contrary to the critics, I found the ending mesmerizing- left open enough for interpretation, moving, and inspirational.

So, ignore most of the critics, approach it with an open mind, and be willing to listen to the message. "I always think there's a band, kid," said Harold Hill in "The Music Man"; "Just because a person doesn't show up doesn't mean the person doesn't care about him," says Jonas Nightengale in "Leap of Faith". Enjoy!

In this newly-released edition, "Leap of Faith" is paired with another Martin movie, "The Out of Towners." I haven't seen "The Out of Towners" yet, so I can't review it, but I would recommend you get this set just on the strength of "Leap of Faith."

What a great movie. I for one couldn't stand the comedy styling of Steve Martin from his SNL days, but this was the first movie that I saw him do some serious acting in. GREAT movie! Thoroughly enjoyed it.

The DVD of Leap of Faith is one of Steve Martin's finest performances. The reason for the purchase was to have the movie handy for repeat enjoyment. That movie was worth purchasing the duel package. Enjoy!

Both of these movies have been around for a long time. We esp. like Leap of faith. It shows a lot of will power and soul searching thru out the movie!

The movies here were not all that good. I was disappointed in them both and I am a die-hard Steve Martin Fan.

I loved both movies and it was wonderful to get 2 movies for one low price, they arrived promptly in excellent condition.

excellent movie - steve at his best (the real preachers are of course better but also less believable) - weak ending i think

I have never had a problem when ordering from Amazon.com. I love how you can be depended upon to get the orders shipped and in great condition. (One time when a DVD was defected, you sent two. This proved that the seller was aware of the problem). I love Leap of Faith and The Out of Towners. Having both on the same DVD means less storage.

These are both enjoyable films even though they are not indicative of Steve Martin's best comedy work. Leap of Faith has a hard time deciding whether to be a drama or a comedy, but does fairly well at both. However, a jack of all trades is seldom a master of one, and this movie proves that. The Out-of-Towners is also uneven, but has some great laughs.

This movie was great and so was the service. I received it much sooner than expected. Thanks!