The Preacher’s Wife (1996) – Rewatch

As a remake of The Bishop’s Wife, it’s hard to review this without comparing it to the earlier picture. Denzel is the angel Dudley come to help Vance, the spouse of the titular Houston. It’s not difficult to see how Washington would be chosen in the role previously held by Cary Grant. There are few modern actors who could pull off the debonair charm, ever capable of throwing out a grin that makes the film’s women and the audience swoon. Houston and Vance are at least as capable filling in the same roles as Loretta Young and David Niven, here with an added showcase for Houston’s singing. There are a bunch of additional characters: Gregory Hines as a property developer bent on demolishing the church, Loretta Devine as a jealous secretary, and Jenifer Lewis inexplicably cast as Houston’s mother. While neither are Must Watches for me, I slightly prefer the earlier version if only because of its shorter, tighter story, but this one is still a decent feel-good film that I don’t mind putting in every other year or so. 

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score