'Preacher's Wife' Restores Faith In Family Holiday Fare

Date: December 13, 1996
By David Baron, Movie critic

From Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
Submitted by: Larry A.


One movie guide book describes the 1947 comedy "The Bishop's Wife" as "the kind of film they just don't make anymore." So it's no surprise that Penny Marshall's "The Preacher's Wife" - a fairly faithful remake in which Denzel Washington takes over the Cary Grant role of a suave angel who descends from heaven to help a clergyman in distress - has a hopelessly old-fashioned feel to it.

Washington is Dudley, the dapper but lonely arrival from the Great Beyond who guides overworked preacher Henry Biggs (Courtney B. Vance) and his adoring but neglected wife (Whitney Houston) toward reconciliation and gives Henry's church a new lease on life in the bargain. (I'm hardly giving away secrets here: Any viewer who doubts this tale's outcome must also be in denial about the tooth fairy.)

What saves Marshall's version from utter anachronism are good vibes from Washington, Vance and some capable supporting players (like scene-stealing Loretta Devine), plus an infusion of liveliness courtesy of gospel-tinged musical interludes that showcase Houston's vocal roots. (The singers' pipes are still good for an occasional spine-tingle even if her acting rises only to the level of adequate.)

True, the picture is way too long, and trades too shamefacedly on its own Capra-esque cuteness. (No one in Hollywood has a more beguiling smile than Washington, but it's deployed so often here that it winds up becoming pure shtick.) Still, movie-goers with a high tolerance for the cloying - and an affinity for religious-themed stories - may find this family-oriented cinematic curio a pleasantly sentimental diversion for the holidays.