An Elmer Gantry updated for the age of the portable computer and the rock tour. En route to Topeka, a truck in a revivalist caravan breaks down outside Rustwater, Kansas (a little heavy-handed maybe, but it could have been worse; could have been Jerkwater), the "Corn Relish Capitol of America," with a current unemployment rate of twenty-seven percent. Not the ideal place to pass the collection plate, but with one truck in the shop and a daily overhead of $3500, the Rev. Jonas Nightengale decides "We'll play here." The details of the operation are well filled in at the start: the raising of the tent, the spreading of the word, the computerized command post and wireless communications system, the tricks of the trade (the movie boasts a credit for "Cons and Frauds Consultant"). Details get a bit sketchier after the first day (though the mentalist tricks will still be decipherable to anyone who has seen Nightmare Alley), and the slapdash ending is unconvincing from more angles than one. Points of interest along the way: the black gospel choir called Angels of Mercy; a butterfly scene more wonderful, if less integral, than the one in Cold Heaven; Debra Winger, as always; Matthew Leonetti's crisp and uncluttered cinematography. With Steve Martin, Lolita Davidovich, and Liam Neeson; directed by Richard Pearce. (1992) — Duncan Shepherd
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