THE PREACHER'S WIFE
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1996 Scott Renshaw
(Touchstone) Starring: Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines. Screenplay: Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott, based on THE BISHOP'S WIFE screenplay by Robert B. Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici. Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Director: Penny Marshall. MPAA Rating: PG (mild profanity) Running Time: 121 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
It won't be difficult for many viewers to accept Denzel Washington as a character sent straight from heaven...particularly female viewers. Washington has been a regular on "sexiest man" lists, dazzling audiences with his confident smile while building an impressive body of work in roles characterized by intensity, integrity and -- frequently -- inscrutability. Yet for all his obvious talent and good looks, he has often seemed unapproachable on screen, so cool that he fails to be warm. THE PREACHER'S WIFE comes as a welcome addition to Washington's resume, a somewhat predictable holiday confection buoyed by Washington's engaging lead performance.
THE PREACHER'S WIFE is set in an inner city New York neighborhood, where local Baptist minister Henry Biggs (Courtney B. Vance) is facing a personal crisis. Confronted by financial problems in the church and social problems in the community which seem beyond his ability to change, Henry drives himself relentlessly, to the point of neglecting his wife Julia (Whitney Houston) and son Jeremiah (Justin Pierre Edmond). Finally Henry asks for help from above, and he gets it in the form of Dudley (Washington), a rookie angel thrilled to be back on earth. Henry naturally has difficulty believing this insistent fellow is divine, especially when Dudley begins spending quality time with Julia and Jeremiah, forcing Henry to consider his priorities more carefully.
A remake of the 1947 Cary Grant-Loretta Young-David Niven vehicle THE BISHOP'S WIFE is a natural notion for a spiritually renewed era when angels are appearing on television ("Touched by an Angel") and in the movies (the upcoming MICHAEL) faster than they can dance on the head of a pin. It is equally natural to expect a certain amount of holy-rolling in such an effort, but THE PREACHER'S WIFE does a fairly good job of walking the fine line between sincere and sanctimonious. Penny Marshall (BIG, AWAKENINGS) has shown herself to be that rare contemporary director who can make a "feel-good" film which doesn't leave you feeling insulted, and she generally avoids saccharine overload. There is a bright good humor to most of THE PREACHER'S WIFE which makes it possible to overlook such manipulations as the fate of an adorable orphan and a conflict with a nasty real estate developer (Gregory Hines, discovering a new career as a heavy after this film and Marshall's 1994 RENAISSANCE MAN).
The major problem with THE PREACHER'S WIFE is the same problem which has characterized most of Marshall's films: it's just too long. Her movies have a tendency to run out of gas with a lot of film left to run, and THE PREACHER'S WIFE could have benefited from plenty of additional editing. Much of it could have come from Whitney Houston's performance, which consists largely of finding reasons to break into song like Elvis Presley in one of his carefully crafted vehicles. Houston certainly has a spectacular voice, and it is nice to hear her using it for gospel standards rather than dreary ballads, but half a dozen musical numbers simply pushes the limit and pads the running time. Little Justin Pierre Edmond should have been another strong candidate for the editor's knife; the button-cute rascal is one of the worst child actors I have seen on screen in years.
Thankfully, Denzel Washington is on hand to provide a jolt whenever THE PREACHER'S WIFE needs it most. His first appearance may be a shock to those who know him best as serious, determined characters in films like MALCOLM X, CRIMSON TIDE and COURAGE UNDER FIRE: dropped from the sky into the snow, looking decidedly dapper in a grey suit, hat and topcoat, Washington's Dudley proceeds to celebrate his return to corporeal form by spinning around on the ground like one of the Three Stooges. It is a giddy and completely unexpected moment, and one of many where Washington shows the mischievous edge to this angel seduced by flesh. His innocence and earnestness are thoroughly charming, and his scenes with Courtney B. Vance (effective as the real principal character of the story) have a particular appeal. If there isn't much chemistry between Washington and Houston, well, that's not really the point of THE PREACHER'S WIFE. Besides, Denzel Washington is a chemical reaction all by himself, and it is a pleasure to see that he can sparkle as well as he smolders.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 preacher features: 6.
Visit Scott Renshaw's MoviePage http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~srenshaw Subscribe to receive reviews directly via email See details on the MoviePage
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews