Review of The Preacher's Wife (1996) by David A — 18 Apr 2010

(from The Watermark 12/12/96).

In this lame comedy-drama-romance, Vance is the pastor of a New York City church, and Houston is his wife who leads the chorus. Washington is an angel sent down to help the estranged couple reconcile their troubled marriage, due to Vance becoming obsessed with his work. The story moves along at a very slow pace, yet it has a plethora of gaping holes in its narrative, as though chunks had been edited out for time. Vance and Washington turn in affecting performances, but Houston's work is terribly mechanical and unmoving. The film is framed by the voice-over of the couple's young child whose speech pattern is unclear, and whose performance is uncomfortably bad. The writing of all the children's roles is poor, and director Penny Marshall can't seem to make the tykes seem innocent and unpretentious. When Houston and Washington eventually start having feelings for each other, and when Hines enters as a developer intending to tear down the church, the subplots turn the film into a muddy mess, and the movie's message is lost. The only thing that makes The Preacher's Wife worth seeing is the scene in which Houston belts out a tune at a jazz club. Better to buy the heavy-gospel soundtrack and pass on the film. QUEER QUOTIENT: Gay icon / Diva Whitney looks fabulous, and sounds great, but she's going to lose a lot of talent points for her lackluster work here and in Waiting to Exhale. Maybe it's time for Vanessa Williams to assume the throne.