Review of The Preacher's Wife (1996) by Erin S — 29 Jan 2008

This film really claimed an audience when it was released, and managed to solidify itself as a lasting holiday film. While I hesitate to call it a classic, I do admit that it has enough heart to make it an admirable effort.

Denzel Washington used to stick to generally positive, uplifting roles, and here he fits the role well as the hesitant angel sent to earth to fix the problems of a certain troubled family. His performance is nice, sweet and fulfilling.

The film really wants to sell itself on it's soundtrack though, and brings in some show stopping numbers in an attempt to bring a gospel message to the films religious sentimentality. While this is overly sentimental, it does fit with the holiday theme.

This film is what it is. It's over done and sweetly emotional, but it has just enough sense of realism to suck you in to its charm. And this is precisely why it gained its audience in spite of being somewhat cheesy.