Fresh
There are many good reasons for going to see The Preacher's Wife.
Esther Iverem, Washington Post
The Preacher's Wife
They needed help. What they got was a miracle.
1996 · 2h 3m · PG
Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Directed by
Penny Marshall
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The Preacher's Wife
Overview
Good-natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this, his church is coming under threat from property developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Biggs prays to God for help – which arrives in the form of an angel named Dudley.
Director and cast
- Penny Marshall Director
- Denzel Washington as Dudley
- Whitney Houston as Julia Biggs
- Courtney B. Vance as Reverend Henry Biggs
- Gregory Hines as Joe Hamilton
- Jenifer Lewis as Margueritte Coleman
- Loretta Devine as Beverly
- Paul Bates as Saul Jeffreys
- Justin Pierre Edmund as Jeremiah Biggs
- Lionel Richie as Britsloe
- Victor Williams as Robbie
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
61%
Tomatometer
Fresh
The Preacher's Wife qualifies as old-fashioned Hollywood movie making at its corniest and most saccharine. But the mostly African American cast puts an engaging spin on the chestnut, and it works beautifully.
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
Rotten
For a movie that might have offered a new twist of the mistletoe, The Preacher's Wife delivers the Scrooge-like acceptable market minimum.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Fresh
The Preacher's Wife is one Christmas picture that actually is in the spirit of the season. It's warm, sentimental, amusing yet serious, bringing fantasy to bear upon the painfully real.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
A welcome boost for audiences seeking images of black characters without criminal tendencies.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
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