THE PREACHER’S WIFE

Yes — gladly. This is one of those rare films that gets nearly everything right: a story about a pastor at the end of his rope, a church about to be lost to a greedy developer, and an angel who shows up not to dazzle but to help. The dialogue is winsome, the theology is sincere, and the Christmas story is told through Scripture, song, and drama rather than sentiment alone.

The only wrinkle is structural, not moral: the angel Dudley is explained in the "It's a Wonderful Life" mold — a deceased man returned as an angel in answer to prayer, which isn't quite biblical angelology. But the film surrounds that device with so much clear teaching on God's law, God's grace, prayer, and forgiveness that the flaw barely registers.

Watch it as a family. Watch it at Christmas. This is a film that leaves you thinking about faith and love, not just entertained by them.

Henry Biggs pastors a run-down, inner-city church and has given everything he has to it. Now a greedy developer has bought the mortgage and wants to turn the church into a mall. Out of options, Henry prays one last, desperate prayer — and an angel named Dudley falls out of heaven to help. Good-natured but sometimes inept, Dudley sets about getting everyone, including Henry, to do their part. Whether the church survives, and whether Henry preaches another Christmas sermon, is the story worth watching unfold.

Four stars means this film earns its praise on craft, not just conviction. The dialogue is described as winsome, the Christmas sequences — told through Bible readings, song, and drama — carry real weight, and the whole thing plays as an emotional journey that pays off. As a remake of The Bishop's Wife, it updates a classic premise without losing its warmth.

This is a film built around a strong Christian worldview, and it shows in nearly every scene: songs about Jesus, images of Jesus, the Christmas story told plainly, and prayer directed to Christ himself. Temptation is rebuked. Greed is rebuked. Marriage is upheld. Prayer is commended. Forgiveness and salvation are lifted up rather than merely mentioned in passing. Few films handle explicitly Christian content with this much confidence and this little apology.

The one theological wrinkle is the angel Dudley — imagined, in the "It's a Wonderful Life" tradition, as a deceased man returned to earth as an angel in answer to prayer. That's not how Scripture describes angels, and it's the film's single real flaw. But it's a fantasy device in service of a story that otherwise points, again and again, toward God's law and God's grace — and it doesn't undo the film's larger witness.

At its heart, this is a story about a desperate man crying out to God and being answered. Scripture makes the same promise: "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me" (Psalm 50:15).

This is Christmas storytelling with real theological backbone — funny, moving, and unafraid to name Jesus by name. The angel device is the film's only real misstep, and it's a small one against everything the story gets right about prayer, marriage, and grace. Our answer stands: worth the trip.