"Leap of Faith," for me, took a little getting used to, primarily because I had to accept "sardonic, jaded" Steve Martin instead of "ha-ha funny" Steve Martin. But I thought it was ultimately a powerful indictment of that realm of faith and the people who inhabit it. It would have been too easy to make it a cartoon about surface-level character flaws. This film went down a few layers, to its tremendous benefit.
"Man With Two Brains" is easily one of the most hilarious films I've ever seen. Same for "The Jerk." Out of all the funny moment in that film, the one that still kills me is when Martin is talking to Bernadette Peters and says "I'd be happy to just be in there somewhere."
"Plains Trains & Automobiles"...a John Hughes film filled with every iota of sentimentalism that is found in his films and yes, it pushes right up against the edge of sappy, but DAMN, pass the Kleenex. The genius of Martin's role here is that he starts out as a self-centered "everyman"...he really does not care about anything other than getting home to see his family. The fact that he has the humanity to learn about life from a guy who irritates him as much as John Candy's character takes him from being a one-dimensional, unlikable, selfish clown to a guy whose transformation in the film is an inspiration.
I had completely forgotten about "The Lonely Guy," even though I had watched it MANY times, many years ago. I know a lot of people don't like Charles Grodin as an actor (many also don't like him as a person, either) but he NAILED it here, just as he did with DeNiro in "Midnight Run" (which, after looking at your list, I am going to assume you like that one, too).
My favorite "Three Amigos" moment has to be Steve Martin telling Carmen "I'll come back one day" and her responding with a confused "WHY?"
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