Rock'n nonne

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.

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.

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!

When a worldly singer witnesses a mob crime, the police hide her as a nun in a traditional convent where she has trouble fitting in.

Whoopi Goldberg is the sister act of the title, and boy does she have a great time with the characterisation. It's hardly pulling up any trees, and it holds few surprises, yet it's so warm and gentle with its humour it's near impossible to dislike.

The laughs obviously come from Goldberg's street wise gal trying to adapt to life in a convent. The big message that unfolds, as she gets more at ease with her surroundings, is that not only can earthy girls come to be honourable by learning new fortitudes, but also that they can positively affect those around them in a perceived stuffy environment.

The trajectory of the nunnery choir under Goldberg's tutorship - from wailing cats to cherubic angels - is the film's highlights, while Maggie Smith as the prim and proper Mother Superior is class unbound. Harvey Keitel as the gangster who is after our sister's blood is wasted, and the ending is never really in doubt, yet this is a good pick me up movie, undemanding fun for those after a quick smiley fix. 7/10