Preaching to the choir

Date: December 13, 1996
By Steve Persall

From St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Submitted by: Larry A.


he Preacher's Wife is so dramatically weightless that it often seems ready to float right out of the theater.

At the same time, its comic sensibilities seem blunted by director Penny Marshall's decision to make nothing more than a nice movie dotted with elementary crises and solutions preordained by the gospel of schmaltz. We know exactly what will happen at each turn, and it takes a couple of megawatt movie stars to keep us interested.

Whitney Houston plays Julia Biggs, the title character, blessed with the voice of a platinum-selling recording artist that threatens to upstage her husband's sermons. Denzel Washington co-stars as Dudley, an angel sent to answer the prayers of Pastor Biggs for assistance with church problems. Neither actor is challenged by their roles - Washington looks relieved to be in a comedy, though - yet their charm and her singing earn a few smiles.

The spirit is willing at St. Matthew's Baptist Church, but cash flow and confidence is weak. A greedy land developer (Gregory Hines) wants to tear down the house of worship. An innocent teenager has been arrested for armed robbery, the Biggs' too-cute son misses his departed foster brother, and Julia is making goo-goo eyes at heaven-sent Dudley.

One of the problems with the movie is that Courtney B. Vance (Get on the Bus) overdoes the dullness of Pastor Biggs' dilemma. He doesn't give us any reason to think that Julia would bypass handsome Dudley to stay at home with this well-meaning drip. The original plot and Marshall's safe approach assure us otherwise. Without any romantic conflict, The Preacher's Wife becomes a frustrating experience: two stars who deserve each other who are distanced by the material.

More successful are those scenes in which Houston gets the chance to utilize her stunning vocal skills, leading the Georgia Mass Choir and Band in some genuinely uplifting gospel tunes. Or anytime sassy Jenifer Lewis puts in her two-cents' worth as Julia's pushy mother. Young newcomer Justin Pierre Edmund is adorable enough to make us overlook much of his very unpolished performance as the preacher's son.

The Preacher's Wife isn't a particularly good movie, but it has an unmistakable sweetness that stands out among the "serious" films released at the end of the year for Academy Awards consideration. It's the only film you'll see in the next few weeks that celebrates the reason for the Christmas season. Touchstone Pictures is banking on the idea that audiences will be making joyful noises at the cash register.

MOVIE REVIEW: C+