La femme du pasteur

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.

A completely ignored and under-rated life-affirming tale that never did really find an audience when released in late 1996. "The Preacher's Wife" is a remake of the "The Bishop's Wife" (a golden-age Hollywood experience from 1947 that starred Cary Grant) that works due to Denzel Washington's charming performance. Washington is an angel from Heaven who is sent to Earth to help a struggling inner-city reverend (Courtney B. Vance). Vance's church is about to fall under the hands of land developer Gregory Hines and his marriage to choir leader Whitney Houston also seems to be on the rocks. Can Washington change everyone's life for the better or will he just make matters worse? Nice direction by Penny Marshall (a film-maker who just cannot seem to get the respect she deserves) and the appealing pairing of Washington and Houston make "The Preacher's Wife" one of the better family-oriented productions of the 1990s. 4 stars out of 5.

You have to wonder why some folks out in Hollywood try to remake that which was done so very well the first time. You can just see them sitting around the conference table talking about adding color and, oh, yeah, lets make the characters black! It would be OK if they really tried to do it better. But they are really just trying to cash in.

Such is the case with "The Preacher's Wife". A modernized color version of the Cary Grant vehicle, "The Bishop's Wife", the insertion of even this excellent black cast does nothing to enhance the story.

Denzel never seems to capture the sly charm of Dudley, the angel sent to help the Preacher. Now we know Denzel can be a charmer, but even he cannot deliver through this tired direction and uninspired script. Nothing really works in the movie (unless, perhaps, you never saw the original), the Preacher is not sympathetic enough, Whitney isn't at full strength as the title character, and even Gregory Hines can't seem to make the villain seem like much of a baddie.

A thorough waste of time and celluloid!

1947's "The Bishop's Wife" is a never-to-be-repeated total triumph of fantasy and heart. But that was generations ago, under different circumstances and with different attitudes (and not even one black extra on set)

Nevertheless, this was a natural as a remake with the proper tweaking. 1996 audiences would never have gone for unabashedly fantastic aspects that are so appealing and endearing in the original, so all of that's toned-down, and as that is so fundamental to the original's success, it inevitably diminishes some of the remake's sparkle.

Still, there are worthwhile additions here. The perpetual problems of police-community relations and threats of gentrification are seamlessly inserted, and the monster that threatens is no longer a monolithic Tower to Mammon, but now a Luxury Gated Community development. And you can bet the preacher's church has a lot more than the bishop's wimpy boychoir, it's got a full-throated gospel group that nearly brings the house down, literally, but stops at breaking the boiler, just when they can least afford it.

Whitney Houston plays the devoted wife, but, true to her times, she is not the resigned shrinking violet the former bishop's wife was. Without ever jeopardizing her standing as the preacher's (Courtney B Vance) wife, she has no problem voicing her positions just as loud as he does.

Denzel Washington plays the angel sent to save the pastor's marriage and he and Whitney do make a very cute couple. Of note is Jenifer Lewis, already, playing Gramma 20 years before "Black-sh " There's a cute scene of white carolers, traditionally dressed, singing outside the posh digs of the evil black real estate developer (Gregory Hines) who, in 1996, can live anywhere he can afford to, and it's definitely NOT the ghetto. Best of all there's Whitney singing gospel like she did at her home church in East Orange, NJ, although the film shoot location was actually Jersey City a couple towns away, not far. .

As a Christmas Movie for the Whole Family, it does have a Hallmarkish air about it that can sometimes be contrived and cloying, but generally a Christmas Movie families of all colors should be able to enjoy

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.