Different in many ways from its predecessor, Sister Act II is easy to dismiss as an inferior sequel, but such a cavalier rejection is unfair. The original film was something of a surprise: it put a familiar personality in an unfamiliar situation and had a lot of fun with the juxtaposition. After watching it multiple times on video, I realized that it tailed off somewhat in the second half, as the writers struggled to resolve the thriller elements of the plot. On the whole I still believed it to be a good film, but not a great one. The sequel, on the other hand, seems to have been conceived from the end backward. The second half of the plot is exciting (if familiar) and well-played. The earlier events, setting up the finale, however, leave much to be desired. The tough, inner-city school milieu is as tired as it sounds, and while the young actors playing the teenagers do a fine job, the characters don't take on a life of their own until the movie is over halfway done. When the real plot of the film takes off (as the choir begins to sound like a choir), Sister Act II becomes a fun if unspectacular movie. Whoopi Goldberg remains a familiar, comfortable yet always interesting screen presence. The other nuns and the friars who administer the school with them are underused but entertaining. James Coburn hams it up as the villain, but doesn't seem out of place. The nun choir from the first film puts in a silly appearance singing "Ball of Confusion," but this too doesn't dampen the proceedings. If the filmmakers could have found a way to compress the 45 minutes or so of exposition into a shorter opening, Sister Act II would at least have been as good as the original. As it is, it remains an underappreciated if unspectacular movie.
Review of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
