Sister Act 2 (Whoopi Goldberg)

(Amazon UK link)

We watched the original ‘Sister Act’ film with Whoopi Goldberg back in January, and liked it so much that I decided to acquire its sequel, unoriginally titled ‘Sister Act 2’, with the byline ‘Back in the Habit’. Back in the UK on another visit, I ordered it from Amazon Marketplace and it arrived promptly, in excellent condition.

Whoopi Goldberg is singing at a club as this movie opens, in her public role as Deloris, when she spots some of the nuns she befriended. They have come to ask her a huge favour: they want her to consider helping them as they try to teach unruly teenagers at a Catholic school that’s failing, and likely to close. Deloris is at first reluctant, but she’s always up for a challenge so eventually she agrees, expecting it to be for no more than a week or so…

Back in her role as Sister Mary Clarence, dressed as a nun, Deloris meets the music class - a group of teens who are able to rap, and organise themselves, but have no interest in learning anything about music. She nearly gives up after a couple of failed attempts to get their attention, but eventually, predictably, she succeeds and starts forming them into a choir.

The story is not a new one. It reminded me forcibly of both ‘Music of the Heart’ and - a tad bizarrely - ‘Nativity’, both movies that depict an inspiring teacher moulding unwilling children into musicians, ending with a prestigious or winning performance. The classic 'Sound of Music', of course, is another film along the same lines, including having a theme of nuns at the start. But just as those three films are done very differently, with quite distinct storylines, ‘Sister Act 2’ takes yet another route into the expected and encouraging ending.

There’s a side plot with a ‘villain’ in the form of Mr Crisp (James Coburn), a school administrator who apparently wants the school to be closed, and recommends it to the diocesan body in charge of education. However he’s not the rather scary and evil villain of the first ‘Sister Act’, and she’s never in any danger; so this might be seen as a rather tame story by comparison.

It was good to see some of the nuns from the previous film, including Maggie Smith as the Mother Superior, still keeping charge of the convent, but much more open and willing to adapt than she used to be. There are monks involved in the school too, as varied in style and appearance as the nuns.

pWe were impressed by the teenagers in the music class, including some with excellent singing voices. I didn’t understand everything they said - like typical teens, they talk at great speed, and some of their jargon went right over my head. It didn’t much matter. Most of them blended into similarity, although one or two stood out: in particular a rebel called Rita (Lauryn Hill) who, it turns out, is passionate about singing. But she has a very pushy mother who wants her to take a more academic route, so as to get a good job.

Whoopi Goldberg is excellent, as expected, and overall this made a good light evening’s viewing. Recommended, although best seen after the first ‘Sister Act’. 

The rating is PG, which I'd say is about right. Mild profanity, some slightly provocative dancing and a few innuendoes, but no violence, nothing explicit, and nothing to disturb even the most sensitive of children. Not that it's likely to be of interest to anyone under the age of about twelve. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

Sister Act (Whoopi Goldberg)

(Amazon UK link)

I don’t think we’d heard of the 1992 film ‘Sister Act’ until about seven years ago when a friend took part in a stage production of the same story. I wasn’t able to see it, and wouldn’t have thought much more about it, but another friend mentioned that the film was excellent. And then Amazon recommended it… so, on a visit to the UK, I found an inexpensive DVD.

Last night we watched it, with little idea what to expect. We knew that someone was going to pretend to be a nun, but that was all. It turns out that Whoopi Goldberg - whom we knew very little about - is the main character, a music hall star called Deloris. She’s in a relationship with a dodgy character called Vince (Harvey Keitel) who is married to someone else, and refuses to leave his wife.

Vince, it turns out, is the leader of a dangerous mob, and Deloris witnesses a terrible crime. She demands police protection, and is sheltered (much to her disgust) at a convent. The Mother Superior is a caring but strict and traditional person, brilliantly portrayed by Maggie Smith. Deloris does not want to conform but realises it’s for her safety, and only for a few weeks until she testify against Vince and his cronies at a trial…

There’s a lot of humour in this film, as the independent, sassy Deloris questions the rules, makes friends with some of the other nuns, and eventually finds herself involved with the choir. Unfortunately the choir has a reputation for terrible, tuneless singing…

There’s quite a bit of music in this film, although I’m not sure it could be classed as a musical, exactly. And there’s a strong religious - Catholic - theme, done extremely well. The other nuns are devout, if a little frustrated at times that their order is so inward-looking rather than getting out into the locality and meeting people. The priest is broad-minded and caring, the Mother Superior willing to admit when she’s wrong, and open - eventually - to changing her attitudes. There’s a lot of love, in the best sense of the word.

We thought it extremely well done, very well cast, and with a good storyline. The rating is PG which reflects the lack of any nudity and only minimal bad language, although there are occasional references to sex. There are chases involving guns and some shooting, but no gore or physical violence is portrayed, though it’s clear what happens in a couple of cases. It’s unlikely to be of interest to anyone under the age of about twelve or thirteen anyway.

Definitely recommended for a light evening’s viewing with an unusual storyline.

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews