Preacher's Kid

Family, faith and music: small-town girl Angie King leaves the first two behind to pursue a dream of singing stardom. LeToya Luckett of the original Destiny's Child makes her movie breakthrough in this inspiring tale bursting with music (including performances by Luckett and co-star/R&B hitmaker Durrell "Tank" Babbs) and talent. Luckett plays Angie, the daughter of a stern but loving bishop, whose attraction to the hunky star (Tank) of a traveling gospel show takes her on the road...and into romance, heartbreak and the realization that the happiness she seeks may be in the home she left behind. But will her disapproving father welcome his prodigal daughter back? Join Angie on a powerful coming-of-age journey.

"Family, faith, and music" are the unifying themes in Preacher's Kid, a film that manages to both embrace and transcend formula and predictability while delivering an inspirational message about parents' obligation to let their kids lead their own lives and learn their own lessons, even if the education comes at the school of hard knocks. Former Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett is Angie King, featured singer at a church presided over by her father (Gregory Alan Williams), a bishop and well-meaning but clueless widower who treats his adult daughter as if she were still a child. Angie's already chafing under his iron hand when a traveling gospel musical comes to town; uplifted by the music and infatuated with the show's sexy, charismatic star (Durrell "Tank" Babbs), she joins the cast and hits the road, despite her father's dire warning about the consequences of what he regards as a betrayal. One needn't be a psychic to foresee much of what happens after that, as the filmmaking isn't exactly subtle; the musical is entitled "Daddy, Can I Come Back Home?" while the Babbs character, who turns out to be a very bad dude, is named "Devlin" (get it?). But while there are abundant clichés (including the good man Angie leaves behind, her steady descent into sin, and various stereotypical characters), Preacher's Kid isn't nearly as soft as it might have been, earning its PG-13 rating with some profanity and scenes (none of them very graphic) of drinking, drugging, and domestic violence. What's more, the cast is fine and the music is good (Luckett is a powerful and convincing singer), and it's tough to find fault with a largely wholesome and uplifting piece of entertainment in which the faithful ultimately prosper, the truly sinful get their rightful comeuppance, and a profound question--Is it possible to love yourself and God?--is addressed with dignity and humility. --Sam Graham