THE PREACHER'S WIFE
A film review by Walter Frith
Copyright 1997 Walter Frith
'The Preacher's Wife' is a good natured remake of 'The Bishop's Wife' from 1947. That film featured Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young and their respective positions are filled in this movie by Denzel Washington, Courtney B. Vance and Whitney Houston. An angel (Washington) in a surprisingly ordinary performance gets his wish and returns to Earth to help a neighbourhood preacher (Vance) who is the best character in the movie and who has lost much of the spirit he has in his faith. Throughout the course of the picture Washington passes himself off as the preacher's assistant and no one believes he's an angel except Vance and Houston's little boy by whom the film is narrated. I enjoyed 'The Preacher's Wife' on a sub standard level of holiday entertainment and it is wonderful for the entire family but has a deliberately slow pace courtesy of Penny Marshall ('Big,' 'Awakenings,' ' A League of Their Own.') She has made a nice film but a very ordinary one and to be too critical of this movie is like being too critical to your mother because you thought her Christmas cake was missing something. It simply isn't a nice thing to do. This is especially true and 'The Preacher's Wife' deserves high praise for being deliberately family oriented and a movie charming for even the smallest children. They certainly did do their best to please making this one.
OUT OF 5> * * *
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