The Preacher’s Kid (2009/Warner Premiere Blu-ray w/DVD)

 

Picture: B/C+     Sound: B/B-     Extras: C     Feature: C

 

 

Talk about preaching to the already converted.  Former Destiny’s Child member LeToya Luckett pays the title character of The Preacher’s Kid in this latest entry by another studio to cut into the highly profitable run of hits by Lionsgate and Tyler Perry.  Though cleanly done, professionally made and well done enough on a technical level, it is also highly predictable, highly formulaic and dull.

 

Luckett and the cast do bring some energy and life to the material, but it is the usual “can she grow into womanhood without taking the wrong path” shtick and even Writer/Director Stan Foster adding acknowledgement of this as a series of throwaway joke comments does not help it escape that conundrum, so you’ve seen it all before and unless you want to see it again (and “updated” does not count or help either, because there is hardly any of that either) and again and again.

 

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image has softness and some motion blur, but is a surprisingly stable image with good color quality and some nice shots throughout, but the anamorphically enhanced DVD is so much weaker than it would come as a surprise if you viewed it before the Blu and shock if you saw it after the Blu.  The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 mix is good, but not great, with a limited soundfield and even a few lines that are not as clear as they should be.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix on the DVD is not bad and has some good sonics going for it, but it is weak as compared to the warmth of the Blu’s DTS.  Extras include Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices on the DVD, while the Blu-ray adds four making of featurettes.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo