The Preacher's Wife

Starring: Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines, Jenifer Lewis, Loretta Devine, Lionel Richie
Directed by: Penny Marshall
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An angel (Denzel Washington) comes to Earth to help a reverend (Courtney B. Vance) struggling with his life.

Review:

Tim: I love the idea of Denzel Washington playing an angel in a heartwarming, uplifting movie. It would be great to get another film like It's a Wonderful Life. Unfortunately, Penny Marshall's film never gets close to approaching greatness like that. This is a decent film, but it's ultimately too forgettable and flawed to be very good.

Part of the problem is that while the characters themselves are interesting, the story feels like it moves at a glacial pace. Even when I was interested in the characters, it feels like it takes forever for anything to happen. It's a meandering, pedestrian story. That hurts the film continuously. The movie is easily twenty minutes too long at 2 hours, 3 minutes, but when you add the generic story to the mix, it makes this film a bit of a challenge to get through. This is a lightweight movie that pretends it's not, and as a result, the viewing experience is significantly diminished. What we get is an average film from start to finish.

I love Denzel Washington and I think he worked decently well, but it's not like this is one of his best performances. I struggled to identify exactly why that was. It was refreshing not to see him as a cop or a military officer, but it's not like he gives an incredible performance. It's fine, it's serviceable, it doesn't detract from the film, but this isn't the Washington we're used to seeing. I thought Courtney B. Vance did a good job- he might have moments where his acting feels a little stretched, but for the most part, he's believable and we care about him. Even when he's acting unlikable, we still want to see him redeemed. Whitney Houston was interesting- her performance was fine, I didn't have any major problems with it- but she certainly doesn't give a very strong performance. Her acting was a bit bland, but it works within the context of this film.

Speaking of Houston, I do have to comment on one aspect of this film that bothered me- the continuous ploys to weave singing into the story. It felt like much of this was done because Houston is a better singer than actor. It must have been so tempting, not to showcase her pipes like that. I get the desire to give her multiple opportunities to sing, but those showcases of her incredible talent don't help move the story along. They sometimes grind it to a halt. Sure, you could reasonably explain a few songs, especially with the choir backing her up. Unfortunately, the film takes this too far and a number of the songs feels forced and unnecessary. That extends the run time of the film without adding a ton of value. The decision to do this really hurts the overall film. Now, that being said, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. So, maybe the producers were willing to sacrifice the quality of the whole movie for a nomination? I'm not sure, but it's not a move I would have made.

While this movie is overly long, I don't want it to seem like I disliked it. It's a perfectly fine little film. It does attempt to highlight relationship dynamics, faith, doing the right thing, building communities and taking care of your family. It does offer us interesting characters and gives them worthwhile things to do. There's certainly a number of strengths in this film. Unfortunately, there's not enough to completely overcome the flaws.

The Preacher's Wife is a decent movie, but this remake begs the question- was it worth doing in the first place?

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Bishop's Wife, It's a Wonderful Life, The Family Man