The Preacher's Wife

Play trailer

1:49

The Preacher's Wife

PG

Released Dec 13, 1996

2h 4m

Fantasy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A cleric begins to doubt himself and is visited by an angel. The heavenly emissary is supposed to help the good reverend over his midlife crisis, but he is distracted by the cleric's lovely young wife. A remake with gospel music of the "The Bishop's Wife".

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Solid performances and a steady directorial hand help The Preacher's Wife offer some reliably heartwarming - albeit fairly predictable - holiday cheer.

Read Critics Reviews

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: A-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Esther Iverem

Washington Post

There are many good reasons for going to see The Preacher's Wife.

Sep 24, 2002

Full Review

Peter Stack

San Francisco Chronicle

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.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 18, 2002

Full Review

Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

That’s the case with The Preacher’s Wife, a film that takes the classic black-and-white film The Bishop’s Wife and turns it into a glossier, minimally inspiring film.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 26, 2022

Full Review

Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

Incredible music and Denzel and Whitney have fantastic chemistry

Aug 2, 2022

Full Review

Dana Harris

Newhouse News Service

While the movie has heartwarming stamped all over it, the plot stacks the deck against this light comedy with a dark undercurrent of marital insecurity, failure of leadership and testing one's faith.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 6, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Dave C

The plot really doesn't do the premise justice at all, but the performances are really good, and the singing is top quality (of course!). These - along with the heart-warming core, are what make this a solid 'Sunday watch'. Its snagging points and inconsistencies are what kick this down a rating point or two...

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/06/25

Full Review

Isaiah S

Fine movie, theatrically. Hated the plot. God sent an angel to orchestrate an affair in order to fear monger a hard working, God fearing man to change his ways?? Yeah, no that sounds like the devil.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/24/24

Full Review

Stephen W

WELL, basically it seems like a VERY watered down version of The Bishops Wife with Cary Grant as the Angel! , this one has hardly any supernormal powers in it........ some parts of the film were adequate, but overall had a feeling of unsatisfied relief when it ended! The Bishops Wife in comparison is WONDERFUL! lots of supernormal powers done in a rich feeling way that gave you a tingle of heavenly power! I watch it every year at Christmas, while this Preachers Wife, never again thankyou!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

12/18/24

Full Review

Stinson P

The Preacher’s Wife is a fun watch for the holidays and while lacking in a few plot points, it’s made up by the strong energy of the cast led by a striking performance including a few musical numbers by Whitney Houston and a charming performance by Denzel Washington. Perfect Christmas family-friendly film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/18/24

Full Review

Steve D

Ok but pointless remake

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

Full Review

Dale R

This Touchstone release is about an angel who answers the prayer of a preacher to help him see the light once more during the Christmas season. This is a remake of the 1947 film The Bishop’s Wife. Denzel Washington plays the angel and he is dripping charisma in every scene he is in. The preacher is played by Courtney B. Vance and his performance is well done. This movie is well put together and acted well. The highlight of the film is the soundtrack, but here is where it went off the rails for me. Whitney Houston plays the preacher’s wife, and the part was written specifically to highlight her ability to sing. Houston is a fabulous singer and she plays her part in this movie really well (in fact she won an Image Award for best actress for this film), but the movie felt like I was watching a Whitney Houston concert with a plot instead of a film. The soundtrack is filled with gospel and Christmas music and I highly recommend checking that out. I would recommend this movie to you if you are a huge fan of Whitney Houston or Denzel Washington, or you need a Christmas movie fix.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Penny Marshall

Director

Denzel Washington

Dudley

Whitney Houston

Julia Biggs

Courtney B. Vance

Reverend Henry Biggs

Gregory Hines

Joe Hamilton

Justin Pierre Edmund

Jeremiah Biggs

Three Wishes

13%

52%

Three Wishes

Watchlist

Field of Dreams

88%

86%

Field of Dreams

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Field of Dreams

Almost an Angel

38%

49%

Almost an Angel

Watchlist

The Rocketeer

66%

65%

The Rocketeer

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Rocketeer

The Indian in the Cupboard

70%

41%

The Indian in the Cupboard

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Indian in the Cupboard

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Preacher's Wife: Trailer 1

1:49

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A cleric begins to doubt himself and is visited by an angel. The heavenly emissary is supposed to help the good reverend over his midlife crisis, but he is distracted by the cleric's lovely young wife. A remake with gospel music of the "The Bishop's Wife".

Director: Penny Marshall
Producer: Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Screenwriter: Nat Mauldin, Allan Scott
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Mundy Lane Entertainment
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 13, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 3, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $48.1M
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now