Houston's 'Preacher's Wife' sings praises of earthy innocence

Date: December 13, 1996
By Susan Wloszczyna

From USA Today
Submitted by: Larry A.


A Nativity pageant with a baby-doll Jesus, a cash-strapped church with a busted boiler, a couple whose marriage has lost its spark and an evil developer threatening to break a community's spirit. That's what The Preacher's Wife (# # #) is made of and, set to a soaring gospel score, it's as warm and cheery as a mug of hot cocoa on a frosty morn.

Director Penny Marshall (Big) may not be the fanciest director, but she knows the way to our hearts, and the unflashy virtues of her holiday film feel audacious in their steadfast old-fashionedness. Taking its cues from 1947's The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and Loretta Young, this smooth update is blessed with a most attractive cast and a script that's nice and a little PG naughty.

Denzel Washington, a heavenly body in pearly grays with a dash of the devil inside, is a celestial messenger who answers the prayers of Courtney B. Vance's urban pastor. The collection plate is light, his sermons are snoozers, the church is crumbling, and he can't balance the demands of congregation and family. He even considers selling his soul to Gregory Hines' greedy builder.

An angelic vision herself, Whitney Houston, as Vance's neglected wife, rises to the occasion both with her graceful, understated acting and a glorious voice that wails more than a half-dozen songs. Washington, who hungrily gobbles such earthly delights as hot dogs after literally falling from the sky, can't help but notice Houston is quite a dish, too.

After dancing at a club and skating in the park while Vance -- the only one who knows Washington's true identity -- dourly tends to duties, the two become smitten. Houston says she's only window-shopping, but her sassy mama (Jenifer Lewis) cautions her with words that will have audiences roaring: "Better not go window-shopping with money in your pocket -- and you better not be putting anything in the layaway plan either."

If Wife lacks anything, it's dramatic tension. Hines is never that mean, and the church's situation never seems all that dire with Washington hovering nearby. Still, The Preacher's Wife entertains in a way that few modern films even dare to attempt. A cherub-cheeked boy (Justin Pierre Edmund) can wish for a little brother for Christmas and not seem insufferably cute. That's as much a cinematic achievement as making spaceships blow up.