The Preacher's Wife

The Preacher's Wife
The movie poster for The Preacher's Wife.
Directed by	Penny Marshall
Produced by	Debra Martin Chase
Starring	Denzel Washington Whitney Houston Courtney B. Vance Gregory Hines Jenifer Lewis Loretta Devine
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Editing by	George Bowers
Studio	The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	December 10, 1996
Running time	124 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	Domestic: $48,102,795

The Preacher's Wife is a 1996 family Christmas film with elements of romance and dramedy directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance. It is a remake of the 1947 film The Bishop's Wife.

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score. The film was nominated for five Image Awards, including Outstanding Motion Picture, and won two - for Best Actress (Whitney Houston) and Best Supporting Actress (Loretta Devine).

Cast of characters

Name	Role
Denzel Washington	Dudley
Whitney Houston	Julia Biggs
Courtney B. Vance	Reverend Henry Biggs
Gregory Hines	Joe Hamilton
Jenifer Lewis	Margueritte Coleman
Loretta Devine	Beverly
Justin Pierre Edmund	Jeremiah Biggs
Lionel Richie	Bristole
Paul Bates	Saul Jefferys
Lex Monson	Osbert
Darvel Davis, Jr.	Hakim
William James Stiggers, Jr.	Billy Eldridge
Marcella Lowery	Anna Eldridge
Cissy Houston	Mrs. Havergal
Aaron A. McConnaughey	Teen

Soundtrack

The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album is the best-selling gospel album of all time. The soundtrack also remained at number one for a record twenty-six weeks on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums Chart.

The Georgia Mass Choir appears in the film. The soundtrack to the film (performed by Whitney Houston) consists of gospel numbers and includes performances by Monica, Cissy Houston, and Shirley Caesar among others.

Reception

The film was a modest hit, grossing $48,102,795 (USA), ¥106,139,200 (Japan), ITL 282,213,000 (Italy), and went on to gross $21,650,400 (USA) in movie rentals.

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars (out of four) and wrote in his review: The Preacher's Wife is a sweet and good-hearted comedy about the holiday season. It tells the story of an inner-city pastor who grows discouraged with his never-ending struggle, asks God for help, and gets it, in the form of an angel from above. This movie could have done more, but what it does, it makes you feel good about.

External links

• The Preacher's Wife at the Internet Movie Database