The Preacher's Wife (1996)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I saw this when it was in the theaters. I basically loved it mainly for its music and Jennifer Lewis' (Julia's mother) performance, but also I loved the opening and closing (climax) scenes. I'm basically a sucker for that kind of thing, and I understand how other people wouldn't find it interesting. I just saw the movie (The Bishop's Wife) which it was based on and finally feel qualified to comment. TPW was not just a remake of TBW, but more of a combination of TBW and "It's a Wonderful Life." Henry in TPW was the character of Jimmy Stewart in IWL, always caring for the underdog (altho very cynical to the angel's angelhood); Joe Hamilton in TPW was "Mr Potter" of the same, with his schemes to redevelop and control the town. I actually found it charming the way elements of TBW found themselves woven into TPW: the ice skating scene, the typewriter-turned-PC, the final sermon, to name a few. But I did realize that the message had been diluted into a feel-good comedy. There are no moments where one feels deeply moved merely by dialogue, such as TBW's Dudley's story of David and the Lion, which captivates the Bishop's entire household, down to the all-business secretary (not to mention the audience!). In TPW, we are made to be moved by the beautiful music; and as such, I guess we might as well just buy the soundtrack. TBW reminded me that special effects are only as good as the movie itself.

This is a weak remake of the Bishop's Wife, a wonderful film from the 40s with Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven creating the characters as they were really meant to be from the novel by Robert Nathan. There were some aspects of this movie that I liked. The children were uniformly good. The camera work and street scenes were well orchestrated. The singing was a joy. But the script has Denzel Washington basically lusting after Whitney Houston, which is not supposed to be what the movie is about. In one scene Dudley (Denzel) and Julia (Whitney Houston) are gazing into a store shop window. He is telling her in a tone that is obviously sexually oriented. . . that if she wears a certain negligee her husband would'nt want more of a present than that. But it is he that is practically drooling. C'mon, he is supposed to be an angel!? Everything that was sweet and wonderful about the original film is missing from this one. I have usually liked Penny Marshall movies in the past, but this one misses the boat.

Can you say love triangle? Except one of the parties is an angel. And he can't do anything about it. This is a touching story, one of my favorite Denzel Washington films. He plays an angel sent to help sort out a ministering couple and their church - and marriage - woes. But in the meanwhile, he falls in love with the preacher's wife (Whitney Houston). What follows is a feel-good story with just enough action to keep the story moving. My favorite part, however, was the vocal performance, and of course Whitney Houston shines. The odd thing was, I first heard of this movie because of the anthem they sang - it was released as an octavo, and our choir director got it for our sanctuary choir. That led me to check out the movie. It was well worth the effort. While films like "The Bodyguard" showcase Houston's pop talent, "The Preacher's Wife" gives us the privilege of a taste of her gift for sacred music. No wonder the angel fell in love. She has the beauty and talent to rank with the angels. The really cool part is you spend the whole movie wondering if he will act on that love or be a good angel and not interfere. In the meanwhile, he gets to help a lot of people. I strongly recommend this movie.

'The Preacher's Wife' contains all of the ingredients that a good holiday film needs. The film is about a preacher who is struggling to find the romance with his wife, and he meets an angel who has come down to sort things out. The film also has an element of comedy to its touching story and the characters in it. The story is what makes this film a good one, and it is worth watching around the holiday season. It's generally a feel-good film, but it is not one that stands out completely with an original plot and stunning cinematography. It is simply a fun film, and it succeeds in that aspect. Just expect it to be another take on a romantic holiday film.