Sister Act

I seem to be the only person who has noticed the remarkable similarity between "Sister Act" and "Brother Orchid", a 1940 Edward G. Robinson film. Does anyone else agree? Certainly the details of the plot have been changed to make the central character female and a singer. In the earlier play/film the Robinson character was a gangster who took refuge in a monastery when he was in trouble with the mob. He uses his business "talent" to put the institution on a better footing, as I remember, by selling flowers. The basic plot is that of the worldly individual entering a religious setting, at first attempting to con the inmates, and then becoming a real part of their system.

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.

Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Harvey Keitel The nineties were an interesting time for movies to be made. This is hardly a spectacular film, but it is certainly amusing, and there are far worse things you can waste your time on. Like cable.

The plot of the movie is fairly basic. Delores VanCartier (Goldberg) is a lounge singer with a married lover who happens to be a drug dealer and other crime related stuff. Delores decides that she's going to leave Vince (Keitel), but when she goes to give him back the jacket he gave her and say goodbye, she happens to walk in right as Vince is getting his goons to shoot his less than loyal limo driver. Oddly enough, Delores runs like the dickens, basically straight to the police station.

Apparently it will take about two months for a trial date, so until that time, one of the officers hides Delores in a place that Vince would never look for her. A convent. Delores, an off colour black woman with a racy past, ends up pretending to be a nun. The Reverend Mother of the convent (Smith) is slightly less than thrilled at the prospect of having Delores stay with them, but the police do make a substantial donation to compensate them for their kindness.

After a long period of not fitting in anywhere in the convent, the Reverend Mother finally decides to put Delores in the choir. Delores brings her musical talent to the table, and the once atrocious choir at the convent starts to get a little bit better. Then a lot better. Eventually they are ready to sing in mass, and when they do sing, the rest of the nuns just look back and forth at each other as if they can't believe their ears. You can almost hear the thoughts streaming through their minds: "THIS can NOT be the same choir!" But rather than just sing traditional hymns, Delores jazzes things up a little bit and puts some twists into a few old favorites. This doesn't exactly thrill the Reverend Mother, but since it does bring people from the streets into the mass services, she can hardly object.

The convent gains popularity, the crowds start pouring in, and the once backwards convent starts to right itself, thanks to Delores. However, since there is a leak in the police station, Vince eventually finds out where Delores is hiding and goes to find her.

The rest of the movie plays out in a fairly standard manner, but it still highly amusing. Like I said before, not an Academy Award winning flick, but a good way to kill an hour and a half without having to think too hard.

Bottom Line: 3 out of 4 (worth a look)

One of the 20th century's greatest female performers, Whoopi Goldberg doesn't fail to impress in this light-hearted look at an ex-lounge singer who is forced into hiding at a convent, after witnessing her lover shoot somebody.

It's outrageously funny and Deloris has soooooo many funny lines, you won't be able to contain yourself. When asked to name all the Apostles, a young Deloris replies: 'John, Paul, George... and... Ringo!' and when told by the Cops she'd have to hide from her lover, her reaction was: 'What are you gonna do, stick me in a bag and bury me? FORGET IT!'

Whoopi puts in yet another fantastic performance (acting and singing wise), and Maggie Smith is great as Mother Superior. Harvey Kietel portrays Deloris' shady lover, and one of the funniest characters is the one played by Kathy Najimy (before 'Veronica's Closet' and 'King Of The Hill'). Wendy Makkena plays Sister Mary Roberts, and the remaining Nuns are also really good.

The Nun's get stuck into helping rid the city of sin - cleaning buildings etc. And along the way, Deloris gets stuck into leading the church choir. With her help, she transforms the off-key, no-hoping choir into a funky-type singing group, and this attracts attention from the streets, and from The Pope.

A fantastic movie, and Whoopi yet again delivers a flawless performance, stealing the show with her cool voice, witty one-liners and, well, that hair! Awesome stuff! 8/10

This is, indeed, a comedy. It is mostly funny, though it won't have anybody rolling in the aisles. This movie is terrific, but not because of the acting or directing...what this movie does is demonstrate the possibility of positive change. If you allow yourself to suspend disbelief about certain aspects of the plot, you'll discover that you can relate to and understand the struggles the sisters go through. They are universal--every human being has been in some dysfunctional, stuck or dying organization. Everybody knows what it feels like, and everybody wishes that they could do something about it.

I think every member of every church, synagogue, mosque, house of worship, civic organization, school, committee, and/or organization of any kind should be tied to a chair and made to watch this movie. It's a paean to possibility, and a wonderful encouragement to those who believe that life could be better than it is.