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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Preacher’s Wife’ Part Art, Part Popular Appeal

Michael H. Price Fort Worth Star-Telegram

It was the African-American community that first came up with the adjective “Disneyfied,” back in the 1940s, to describe anything too glamorized to feel entirely real.

The name comes full-circle in the Touchstone (Disney) production of “The Preacher’s Wife,” a film with a proud basis in African-American heritage - but also a film so “Disneyfied” as to appear less genuine than it keeps trying to be. Whitney Houston is the chief voice of authenticity here, with a singing role that includes some powerful gospel workouts.

Well, of course, the story’s origins are pretty artificial. It started out in 1947 as “The Bishop’s Wife,” a sentimental picture starring David Niven and Loretta Young as a troubled church couple and Cary Grant as an angel sent down to help out. The studio was RKO-Radio Pictures - also the chief distributor of Walt Disney’s movies in those days.

Now, as an official Disney remake, “The Preacher’s Wife” becomes an odd wrestling match between its artistic intentions and its desire for mass-audience appeal. New screenwriters Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott have overhauled the original with a nod to the similarly themed classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1947), and planted the works down in a neighborhood that is perilously near falling apart. If its church were lost, the district would suffer.

Which is just what a ruthless real-estate broker (played by Gregory Hines) wants to see happen. He’s cracking down on the church and putting the squeeze on its uptight minister (Courtney B. Vance), who in turn is having doubts about his own worth as a minister, a husband and a father. The preacher’s wife (Houston) is restless, but she also is anchored by her music and her belief that the church will hold everything together.

The keen thing about divine intervention in fiction is that it needs no dramatic justification: It just happens. Benevolent angel Denzel Washington shows up just in time to help out against the greedy land developer and help stabilize a troubled marriage - but also to remind Houston of how much fun she used to have before she married into the church.

Director Penny Marshall is in her crowd-pleaser mode here, churning out predictably cheery holiday entertainment and avoiding any subject matter too heavy for the PG rating.

No one can doubt that Hines’ miserly character will be forced to look into his own heart, nor question that Vance will loosen up and remember what it is that makes life worth living.

Houston’s singing has never sounded more passionate, and her gospel showcases with the Georgia Mass Choir are alone worth the price of a ticket.

MEMO: These sidebars appeared with the story: “The PREACHER’S WIFE” Locations: Lincoln Heights, Lyons and Coeur d’Alene Cinemas Credits: Directed by Penny Marshall, starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines Running time: 2:05 Rating: PG

OTHER VIEWS Here’s what other critics say about “The Preacher’s Wife:” Lawrence Toppman/Charlotte Observer: Watching “The Preacher’s Wife” is like listening to your grandmother tell a story on a wintry day, murmuring as raindrops spatter a window and a fire blazes nearby. (It) makes for a gently rewarding afternoon you’ll barely be able to remember the next morning. Duane Byrge/The Hollywood Reporter: Every time the Preacher hits a rocky patch in his sermon, the Preacher’s wife cranks up the choir to uplift his ramblings. So too does the rousing gospel singing of Whitney Houston lift up “The Preacher’s Wife” when it hits some story flat notes and dull patches… . This holiday-time fantasy will surely warm viewers’ hearts despite its patchy narrative.

These sidebars appeared with the story: “The PREACHER’S WIFE” Locations: Lincoln Heights, Lyons and Coeur d’Alene Cinemas Credits: Directed by Penny Marshall, starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines Running time: 2:05 Rating: PG

OTHER VIEWS Here’s what other critics say about “The Preacher’s Wife:” Lawrence Toppman/Charlotte Observer: Watching “The Preacher’s Wife” is like listening to your grandmother tell a story on a wintry day, murmuring as raindrops spatter a window and a fire blazes nearby. (It) makes for a gently rewarding afternoon you’ll barely be able to remember the next morning. Duane Byrge/The Hollywood Reporter: Every time the Preacher hits a rocky patch in his sermon, the Preacher’s wife cranks up the choir to uplift his ramblings. So too does the rousing gospel singing of Whitney Houston lift up “The Preacher’s Wife” when it hits some story flat notes and dull patches… . This holiday-time fantasy will surely warm viewers’ hearts despite its patchy narrative.