Whoopi Goldberg stars as a sassy, low-rent lounge singer forced to hide out from the mob in the last place anyone would ever look for her - a convent. While she's there, her irreverent behavior attracts a flock of faithful followers and turns the nuns' tone-deaf choir into a soulful chorus of swingin' singin' sisters. But when the group earns rave reviews, her sudden celebrity jeopardizes her hidden identity. Harvey Keitel and Kathy Najimy join a heavenly cast in this habit-forming comedy bursting with '60s Motown hits.
Directed by
Emile Ardolino
Written by
Joseph Howard
Starring
Whoopi Goldberg (Deloris Van Cartier / Sister Mary Clarence); Maggie Smith (Mother Superior); Kathy Najimy (Sister Mary Patrick); Wendy Makkena (Sister Mary Robert); Mary Wickes (Sister Mary Lazarus); Harvey Keitel (Vince LaRocca); Bill Nunn (Lt. Eddie Souther); Robert Miranda (Joey); Richard Portnow (Willy); Ellen Albertini Dow (Choir Nun); Carmen Zapata (Choir Nun); Pat Crawford Brown (Choir Nun); Prudence Wright Holmes (Choir Nun); Georgia Creighton (Choir Nun); Susan Johnson-Kehn (Choir Nun (as Susan Johnson)). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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Dated but Decent
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
'Sister Act' is probably the closest you'll get to a Catholic 'no-brainer' film; one of those films that really does take little emotional 'effort' to watch. I say the film is the closest to you'll get to this, because in reality a 'Catholic no-brainer' would be an oxymoron - that is to say that if a film truly involved no emotional engagement it would be such a waste of time to watch that it would be immoral to do so, and hence not Catholic! This is all a very round about way of saying that 'Sister Act' does have at least some redemptive merits. The biggest positives of the film are its sense of humour, sense of fun, its cheerful (if somewhat comic-strip) characters, and its slightly deeper themes of humility, charity, acceptance and forgiveness. The biggest negatives are the somewhat simplistic script, said comic-strip acting (and characterisation) and the potential to communicate a message that Church is entirely about singing, dancing and having fun - with little appreciation of the importance of the more spiritual aspects of faith. Still, the positives outweight those negatives, making this a Catholic-themed film that all of the family should enjoy watching.
