Sister Act

TIDBIT - Bette Midler was the original choice for the lead in "Sister Act".

That may have been cute (a Jewish nun?) but in choosing Whoopi, "Sister Act" gives itself a shot in the arm with an incomparable comic talent and insures every scene with Deloris/Mary Clarence is a highlight unto itself.

After witnessing a Mob hit courtesy of her boyfriend (Keitel), casino lounge singer Whoopi hightails it to her local police where a helpful cop (Nunn) puts her in the Witness Protection Program and before you can say "holy, holy, holy", sends her to the last place in the world anyone would think of finding a second-rate lounge singer.

Once the church, nuns and choir music with a Motown beat are all introduced, things pick up steadily. All the nuns are funny (especially Najimy as the eternally sunny Sister Mary Patrick) and there are so many good scenes to be had thereafter (the bar scene, the first choir practice, the blossoming of Sister Mary Robert (Makkenna), etc.), that you can't help but smile, even if you're tired of nuns as a springboard for comedy.

And there's something about the music: the gospel-tinged soul songs like "My God", "I Will Follow Him" and such lift your spirits and are infectious in their own right. The last scene in the movie is quite moving, truth be told, and lets you in on a secret... God moves in mysterious ways.

Amen.

Nine stars. These "Sister"s rock!

This is a great movie. It is light, interesting, funny, and - well, just great. The plot is not extremely predictable, though you can tell what could happen after a while. All the characters were entertaining. The night club scene with Mary Roberts, Mary Clarence, and Kathy Najimy's character was great... as was the scene where Delores becomes Mary Clarence and the nuns in church here her yell at Mother Superior because of the wardrobe.

This movie is very entertaining, even if you know what is going to happen the entire time. The singing is glorious and the cast is up for anything. Whoopi is terrific and funny - so is Kathy Nijimy. It's definately worth seeing, at least once.

Sister Act

Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) is a lounge singer at a successful Reno casino, and is also the mistress of its manager, Vince LaRocca (a lazy Harvey Keitel), a drugs baron. Feeling unloved, she finally decides to quit her job at the casino and split up with Vince when he gives her his wife's old fur coat as a present. But then Deloris accidentally walks in on Vince dispatching one of his snitch employees, and literally has to make a run for her life. Taking refuge with the police, she discovers that she is required to testify in court when Vince is charged for his dirty deeds. But until then, the police arrange for her to hide out at a nunnery in Chicago, overseen by the Mother Superior (Maggie Smith). As Deloris reluctantly adapts to her new lifestyle as Sister Mary Clarence, she strikes up friendships with the unsuspecting nuns at the monastery, and even finds a way to put her singing skills to good use. But wherever she goes, Vince is never far behind…

The above plot synopsis is likely to imply to the unknowing that 'Sister Act' is a "woman in jeopardy" thriller, when actually it's the complete opposite. The creators of the film seem to have designed a worthy fish-out-of-water comedy, and then simply used the bookends of the film as window dressing. It's all the story you need, though, when you have Whoopi Goldberg in the lead.

I've always had a preferment to Goldberg's shockingly underused skills as a dramatic actress, but her funny act can make virtually any film enjoyable. This is one of them. However, this being a family film, the climax is slightly underwhelming, and seems to be trying to be funny that actually letting off tension. But 'Sister Act' is a decent comedy regardless.

~ 7/10 ~

Just watched this on Disney+. Music is still great and jokes are cute and funny. Great watch and family friendly