A modern update of a holiday classic, The Preacher’s Wife attempts to tell an uplifting tale but ends up being a Whitney Houston vanity project. The story follows an angel named Dudley (played by Denzel Washington) who comes to the aid of a worn-out preacher who’s lost his way. Washington gives an excellent performance and brings a lot of charisma to the film, but Houston constantly tries to steal the spotlight, and finds any excuse she can to sing. Additionally, the plot is overly convoluted and doesn’t flow very well. And, the tone is also uneven; constantly switching between comedy, drama, and romance. While it’s entertaining and has a good heart, The Preacher’s Wife doesn’t have a clear vision of what type of film it wants to be.

This movie just kills me everytime. The Bishop's Wife (which this is a remake/update of) is my absolute favorite Christmas movie. This one? Ugh. Sure, the soundtrack with Whitney Houston's vocals is fantastic, but they added too many characters, let too many people in on who Dudley actually is, and had WAY too much with the kid. Could have use 3 less subplots and used that time to amp up the charm that Denzel usually can push out in his performances.