With their long black dresses, white veils, fully covered bodies, vows of humility, silence and last but not least, chastity, nuns crystallize every single element that stand against our usual enjoyment of female screen characters. Go figure why there is a fistful of movies involving nuns and when they do, either they have a troubled past, or it's for pure comedic purposes
and don't get me started on films that exploit nuns to arouse other types of reactions, this doesn't belong to a family film's review (wink, wink).
Anyway, since nuns became the epitome of "uncoolness", it was about time a film did justice to them and made us laugh not at them, for once, but WITH them, and that's the merit of "Sister Act", one of the most acclaimed comedies of the 90's, starring Whoopi Goldberg, probably in her most defining, if not iconic, role. Yet, as original as it is, the premise of the film that drained the first spectators, far exceeds its reputation. Indeed, for a production labeled as a comedy, "Sister Act" features an unusual dryness on gags and funny lines
at least once you get used to the whole comedy of situation resulted from the presence of Deloris Van Cartier, a loudmouth Reno lounge singer, girlfriend of a Mafia boss, in a Roman Catholic convent.
Yet "Sister Act" possesses a strange power, for some reason, it's quite impossible to dislike it, I don't know where it's coming from, but I can say with no doubt that "Sister Act" is touched by a sort of divine grace. I could say that the film's success and merit owed a lot to Whoopi Goldberg's sparkling performance, not just funny but warm, sweet and caring. But she doesn't carry the film alone; there are two nuns, no three (well, make them four) that follow her in the gentlest and sweetest way. The quiet and meek Mary Robert, the happy and funny- looking Mary Patrick and an scene-stealing Mary Wickles, as the elderly Mary Lazarus, who is to "Sister Act" what Joe Vitterelli was to "Analyse This". And as (literally) the straight person of this joyful comedy, granted she doesn't have the most adorable mug of the bunch, Maggie Smith plays the Mother Superior, who welcomes Whoopi Goldberg in her community and invites her to find a meaning to her life during her temporary exile in nunnery.
"Sister Act" is the kind of comedy that makes you genuinely smile through the characters' interactions and the whole positive feeling they convey, but I could say the same thing about "Wayne's World", a film made me laugh more. "Sister Act" was as successful, but comically speaking, the direction had a sort of annoying straightforward way to get to its point. All right, we don't care much about the whole crime subplot that forced Deloris to hide, but when you involve an actor of Keitel's caliber, you can make an effort. For instance, there's a very interesting connection between Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Nunn, as the cop who suggests she goes into witness protection program and puts her in the convent. He takes all the precautions in order to keep the place secret but if I told you, how the secret was revealed, you would cry in disbelief.
It's not even my intent to be critical regarding the plot, any comedy can get away with that kind of criticism, but the relative absence of gags couldn't put my thoughts elsewhere. The film is full of smile-inducing moments, but I couldn't help but noticing some great opportunities for funnier situations, sadly missed. What's left at the end: a wonderful, performance from Whoopi Goldberg, great interactions with Maggie Smith, a gallery of unforgettable characters
and music. Is that enough? In fact, it is. If it's not the comedy of the year, it touches the heart through the simple power of music, the only gift Deloris could give. In fact, it's like "Sister Act" inhabits the spirit of its own plot, the power of music to redeem the vilest soul, and to forgive the lousiest direction, to give a sort of meaning. Yes, they sing badly in the beginning, and it's only a matter of time before they reveal their talent, but we don't care, it's the first film with nuns singing, swinging, and if only for that "Sister Act" deserves some praise, especially since the songs carry this religious aura that made them irresistible for any heart, whether it has faith or not.
So, the real star of the film is music and its endearing power, as for the little clichés, they would become so blatant in the pointless sequel it inspired, that they're almost imperceptible in the first film. And my first memory of "Sister Act" takes me back to the 1990's, a night I couldn't resist to the climactic finale when they were all singing "I Will Follow Him" in front of a prestigious guest. At that moment, the film got me, and whenever I saw it on TV, I couldn't wait for the lousy crime plot to end, so I could feel the song penetrating my soul. Well, the crime plot wasn't that bad, it featured a nice twist on the 'villainous monologue' to allow the criminal to be arrested before killing Deloris, but well, with a bunch of nuns in the den of sins and perversions, they could have done better.
So, let's face it, the holy Trinity of the film, no blasphemy intended is Whoopi, the nuns and the Music, the Music as the Holy Spirit that improve the way to communicate our deepest and most intimate convictions: something, we call Faith.
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