The Preacher’s Wife ** (1996, Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington, Courtney B Vance, Gregory Hines) – Classic Movie Review 1953

The 1947 Cary Grant film The Bishop’s Wife is rehashed as a too-cosy and schmaltzy acting-and-gospel-singing vehicle for Whitney Houston in director Penny Marshall’s 1996 heart-warmer.

Her co-star Denzel Washington is appealing and charming as a handsome angel called Dudley who comes to earth to help a Baptist preacher, the Reverend Henry Biggs (Courtney B Vance), and his feisty wife Julia (Houston) to save their cash-strapped church, prevent their community centre from closing, help a kid in trouble with the law and see off an oily TV evangelist (Gregory Hines). Yup, it’s a busy Christmas time in the ‘hood!

Houston lacks acting range, but gives a pleasant, natural performance, and she’s in fine voice in the gospel numbers. The simple mix of sentimentality and religious uplift is designed for all those who cry at Jingle Bells, but Scrooges still suffering Christmas hangovers will wish director Marshall could bring more rigour and vigour to keep bathos at bay.

Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott base their old-style screenplay on the novel The Bishop’s Wife by Robert Nathan and the 1947 screenplay of The Bishop’s Wife by Robert E Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici. Hans Zimmer’s score was Oscar nominated. Cissy Houston appears as Mrs Havergal, Lionel Richie  plays Britsloe, Loretta Devine is Beverly and Jenifer Lewis plays Margueritte Coleman.

The cast are Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington, Courtney B Vance, Gregory Hines, Jenifer Lewis, Loretta Devine, Justin Pierre Edmund, Lionel Ritchie, Paul Bates, Lex Monson, Darvel Davis Jr, William James Stiggers Jr, Marcella Lowery and Cissy Houston.

The Preacher’s Wife is directed by Penny Marshall, runs 124 minutes, is made by Mundy Lane, Parkway the Samuel Goldwyn Company and Touchstone Pictures, is released by Buena Vista, is written by Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott, is shot by Miroslav Ondricek, is produced by Robert Greenhut and Samuel Goldwyn Jr, is scored by Hans Zimmer and designed by Bill Groom.

Marshall will return to the director’s chair in 2015 for the first time since 2001’s Riding in Cars With Boys with Effa, a biopic of baseball pioneer Effa Manley, the first woman to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1953

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