The Preacher's Wife

1996

Action / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance

27
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 44% · 46 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 44% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.7/10 10 15012 15K

angel church choir gospel reverend crisis of faith woman director

Plot summary

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.

Director

Penny Marshall Photo
Penny Marshall

Top cast

Courtney B. Vance Photo
Courtney B. Vance as Reverend Henry Biggs
Denzel Washington Photo
Denzel Washington as Dudley
Justin Pierre Edmund Photo
Justin Pierre Edmund as Jeremiah Biggs
Jenifer Lewis Photo
Jenifer Lewis as Margueritte Coleman
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.03 GB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 6
1.98 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 22

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Joejoesan 7 / 10

Nice

Okay, The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and David Niven remains a brilliant Christmas movie. But I must admit that its remake, The Preacher's Wife, isn't bad at all. As a vehicle for the singing talents of Whitney Houston it surely succeeds and I think the gospel setting is a great idea as well. Denzel Washington is charming as angel Dudley, Whitey does a great job as a disappointed wife (and sings wonderfully) and Courtney B. Vance is very convincing as a preacher who has lost hope.Strangely there were not a lot of things copied from the original black and white movie. It looks like the people behind The Preacher's Wife only took the basic idea of the original movie and then made up its own story. I think the lack of commercial success is due to the fact that movies about angels don't fit in these cynical times anymore. With James Stewart, Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant in a black and white production you could get away with it. But in these modern days? I doubt it. The Preacher's Wife is no classic, but it's a nice movie when you want to watch a (musical) Christmas film during the holidays.
Reviewed by zunitrail-1 6 / 10

It's a Wonderful Bishop's Life

I saw this when it was in the theaters. I basically loved it mainly for its music and Jennifer Lewis' (Julia's mother) performance, but also I loved the opening and closing (climax) scenes. I'm basically a sucker for that kind of thing, and I understand how other people wouldn't find it interesting. I just saw the movie (The Bishop's Wife) which it was based on and finally feel qualified to comment. TPW was not just a remake of TBW, but more of a combination of TBW and "It's a Wonderful Life." Henry in TPW was the character of Jimmy Stewart in IWL, always caring for the underdog (altho very cynical to the angel's angelhood); Joe Hamilton in TPW was "Mr Potter" of the same, with his schemes to redevelop and control the town. I actually found it charming the way elements of TBW found themselves woven into TPW: the ice skating scene, the typewriter-turned-PC, the final sermon, to name a few. But I did realize that the message had been diluted into a feel-good comedy. There are no moments where one feels deeply moved merely by dialogue, such as TBW's Dudley's story of David and the Lion, which captivates the Bishop's entire household, down to the all-business secretary (not to mention the audience!). In TPW, we are made to be moved by the beautiful music; and as such, I guess we might as well just buy the soundtrack. TBW reminded me that special effects are only as good as the movie itself.
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