Remember That Movie: Sister Act
While thumbing through my parents’ DVD collection one day, I came across this comedy from 1992. I remember the movie was a fun, feel-good comedy when I was 12 or 13. I wondered if today it played more like a silly (read lame) high-concept “Whoopi is a nun? High-larious!” piece of disposable entertainment. Thankfully, it turned out to be a fun, feel-good comedy that’s light on its feet, doesn’t take itself seriously, but has held up well over time.
In case you don’t remember, Sister Act stars Whoopi Goldberg as a casino girl-group singer. Everything about her is second-rate: she sings one-hit wonder medleys of sixties girl groups in Reno and is mistress to Harvey Keitel’s mob boss. With plans to break up her dead-end affair, Whoopi accidentally walks in as Keitel’s driver is shot in the head by his boss. Goldberg runs to the police and is put in hiding while waiting to testify. Naturally, she is hidden as a nun of a church in San Francisco. Whoopi doesn’t exactly fit in until she is assigned to the choir where she is pushed into directing the cacophonous bunch of ladies. Of course, there’s a leak in the department protecting her so her sanctuary may not last.
Music sets the tone and emotional spirit of Sister Act. There are a handful of scenes that would be dead-serious in any other movie involving murder or the threat of death. These scenes are kept light with a very zany score by Marc Shaiman. During the choir’s first performance under Whoopi’s guidance, it’s hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of joy as we hear the beautiful harmonies and spirited second half of the song. Each choir performance is a treat to watch and the film relies on them to sell itself to the audience. It works.
It’s tough to imagine that Sister Act was originally written in 1987 by Paul Rudnick with Bette Midler in mind. Eventually, Midler left the project and the script was passed around to various writers, including Carrie Fisher and Nancy Meyers (Private Benjamin). The final script bared such little resemblance to the original that Rudnick refused credit, opting instead for the pseudonym ‘Joseph Howard’.
Death seemed to follow this movie for some reason. It was directed by Emile Ardolino (Dirty Dancing), who died a year after its release. Mary Wickes, who played the former choir director Sister Lazarus, died three years after Sister Act was released. Joseph Maher, who played Monsignor O’Hara, died a year after that. And Whoopi Goldberg’s movie career pretty much died soon after Sister Act.
Speaking of acting careers, we would only see Maggie Smith (Harry Potter series), Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction), Kathy Najimy (King of the Hill), and Bill Nunn (Spider-Man trilogy) continue a healthy career after this. A sequel subtitled Back in the Habit was released, but it’s since been left in purgatory. Although it did give us Jennifer Love Hewitt, right?
Also worth noting, Wendy Makkena’s singing voice was unfortunately dubbed over by Andrea Robinson, although it’s very difficult to find much information on this. I always found this knowledge disappointing and stained her character’s break-out singing performance for me – and now I’ve ruined it for all of you.
Sister Act is a fun comedy of light entertainment. It has a decent story that avoids being too serious and delightful performances by its cast. It clearly relies on the choir performances to keep you interested, but it works rather well. It’s a comedy that’s held up over time and still worth a look. If nothing else, it’ll remind you why you liked Whoopi Goldberg and may inspire you to check out her work from the previous ten years.
7/10
Should you see it? Rent
Sister Act is available on DVD.
In case you don’t remember, Sister Act stars Whoopi Goldberg as a casino girl-group singer. Everything about her is second-rate: she sings one-hit wonder medleys of sixties girl groups in Reno and is mistress to Harvey Keitel’s mob boss. With plans to break up her dead-end affair, Whoopi accidentally walks in as Keitel’s driver is shot in the head by his boss. Goldberg runs to the police and is put in hiding while waiting to testify. Naturally, she is hidden as a nun of a church in San Francisco. Whoopi doesn’t exactly fit in until she is assigned to the choir where she is pushed into directing the cacophonous bunch of ladies. Of course, there’s a leak in the department protecting her so her sanctuary may not last.
Music sets the tone and emotional spirit of Sister Act. There are a handful of scenes that would be dead-serious in any other movie involving murder or the threat of death. These scenes are kept light with a very zany score by Marc Shaiman. During the choir’s first performance under Whoopi’s guidance, it’s hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of joy as we hear the beautiful harmonies and spirited second half of the song. Each choir performance is a treat to watch and the film relies on them to sell itself to the audience. It works.
It’s tough to imagine that Sister Act was originally written in 1987 by Paul Rudnick with Bette Midler in mind. Eventually, Midler left the project and the script was passed around to various writers, including Carrie Fisher and Nancy Meyers (Private Benjamin). The final script bared such little resemblance to the original that Rudnick refused credit, opting instead for the pseudonym ‘Joseph Howard’.
Death seemed to follow this movie for some reason. It was directed by Emile Ardolino (Dirty Dancing), who died a year after its release. Mary Wickes, who played the former choir director Sister Lazarus, died three years after Sister Act was released. Joseph Maher, who played Monsignor O’Hara, died a year after that. And Whoopi Goldberg’s movie career pretty much died soon after Sister Act.
Speaking of acting careers, we would only see Maggie Smith (Harry Potter series), Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction), Kathy Najimy (King of the Hill), and Bill Nunn (Spider-Man trilogy) continue a healthy career after this. A sequel subtitled Back in the Habit was released, but it’s since been left in purgatory. Although it did give us Jennifer Love Hewitt, right?
Also worth noting, Wendy Makkena’s singing voice was unfortunately dubbed over by Andrea Robinson, although it’s very difficult to find much information on this. I always found this knowledge disappointing and stained her character’s break-out singing performance for me – and now I’ve ruined it for all of you.
Sister Act is a fun comedy of light entertainment. It has a decent story that avoids being too serious and delightful performances by its cast. It clearly relies on the choir performances to keep you interested, but it works rather well. It’s a comedy that’s held up over time and still worth a look. If nothing else, it’ll remind you why you liked Whoopi Goldberg and may inspire you to check out her work from the previous ten years.
7/10
Should you see it? Rent
Sister Act is available on DVD.