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The Preacher's Wife

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5.8/10 • 230

1996-12-132h 3m

FamilyFantasyDramaComedyRomance

They needed help. What they got was a miracle.

Good-natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this, his church is coming under threat from property developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Biggs prays to God for help – which arrives in the form of an angel named Dudley.

Directors
Penny Marshall
Editors
George Bowers

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Denzel Washington

    Denzel Washington

    Dudley

  2. Whitney Houston

    Whitney Houston

    Julia Biggs

  3. Courtney B. Vance

    Courtney B. Vance

    Reverend Henry Biggs

  4. Gregory Hines

    Gregory Hines

    Joe Hamilton

  5. Jenifer Lewis

    Jenifer Lewis

    Margueritte Coleman

  6. Loretta Devine

    Loretta Devine

    Beverly

  7. Paul Bates

    Paul Bates

    Saul Jeffreys

  8. Justin Pierre Edmund

    Justin Pierre Edmund

    Jeremiah Biggs

  9. Lionel Richie

    Lionel Richie

    Britsloe

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jan 2, 2025

5/10

No, no, no, no, no! What in the name of all that's holy convinced anyone that a remake of the delightfully charming "Bishop's Wife" (1947) ought to happen? Instead of that charmingly engaging story of a pre-occupied Bishop losing sight of what really mattered, we get this noisy and aggressive vehicle for Whitney Houston to prove she can shout her songs at us. She's married to the affable minister (Courtney B. Vance) whose church is facing an existential crisis. It's a lone beacon of hope in a deprived area of the city but it's also a prime site for redevelopment, and "Joe" (Gregory Hines) is determined to turn the steeple into a skyscraper. All this rearguard action is taking it's toll on his marriage though, so up pops "Dudley" (Denzel Washington) as the mischievous angel intent on helping this particular lost sheep. Thing is, the more he involves himself in the affairs of this couple the more he begins to fall for "Julia", she for him and nobody is really making any progress on the job in hand. The rest of this is faithful enough to the original but way too much of this is contrived to give it's singing star an opportunity to belt out "I Believe in You and Me" as well as a few more typically seasonal numbers. We all know she could sing, but this isn't singing. It's just showing off. She has a formidable vocal range but the deliveries here lack any kind of subtlety or delicacy. It's as if she was using her own voice instead of a wrecking ball to help out "Joe"! It's just completely class-free, charm-free and I don't think it need to have been made at all. Nobody's finest moments here, sorry.

Media

  • The Preacher's Wife poster
  • The Preacher's Wife poster
  • The Preacher's Wife poster
  • The Preacher's Wife poster
  • The Preacher's Wife poster
  • The Preacher's Wife poster
  • The Preacher's Wife poster
  • The Preacher's Wife poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$40,000,000.00
Revenue
$48,100,000.00
Keywords
angelchurch choirgospelreverendcrisis of faithwoman directorchristmas