The Preacher's Wife

12/13/19962h 3m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ They needed help. What they got was a miracle. ~

Overview:

Good-natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this, his church is coming under threat from property developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Biggs prays to God for help – which arrives in the form of an angel named Dudley.

Director:

Penny Marshall

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$40,000,000.00

Revenue:

$48,100,000.00

Key words:

angel
church choir
gospel
reverend
crisis of faith
woman director
christmas

Cast

Denzel Washington

~ as ~

Dudley

Whitney Houston

~ as ~

Julia Biggs

Courtney B. Vance

~ as ~

Reverend Henry Biggs

Gregory Hines

~ as ~

Joe Hamilton

Jenifer Lewis

~ as ~

Margueritte Coleman

Loretta Devine

~ as ~

Beverly

Paul Bates

~ as ~

Saul Jeffreys

Justin Pierre Edmund

~ as ~

Jeremiah Biggs

Lionel Richie

~ as ~

Britsloe

Victor Williams

~ as ~

Robbie

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 11 month(s) ago
5
No, no, no, no, no! What in the name of all that's holy convinced anyone that a remake of the delightfully charming "Bishop's Wife" (1947) ought to happen? Instead of that charmingly engaging story of a pre-occupied Bishop losing sight of what really mattered, we get this noisy and aggressive vehicle for Whitney Houston to prove she can shout her songs at us. She's married to the affable minister (Courtney B. Vance) whose church is facing an existential crisis. It's a lone beacon of hope in a deprived area of the city but it's also a prime site for redevelopment, and "Joe" (Gregory Hines) is determined to turn the steeple into a skyscraper. All this rearguard action is taking it's toll on his marriage though, so up pops "Dudley" (Denzel Washington) as the mischievous angel intent on helping this particular lost sheep. Thing is, the more he involves himself in the affairs of this couple the more he begins to fall for "Julia", she for him and nobody is really making any progress on the job in hand. The rest of this is faithful enough to the original but way too much of this is contrived to give it's singing star an opportunity to belt out "I Believe in You and Me" as well as a few more typically seasonal numbers. We all know she could sing, but this isn't singing. It's just showing off. She has a formidable vocal range but the deliveries here lack any kind of subtlety or delicacy. It's as if she was using her own voice instead of a wrecking ball to help out "Joe"! It's just completely class-free, charm-free and I don't think it need to have been made at all. Nobody's finest moments here, sorry.