Sister Act is a 1992 American comedy film
directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Joseph Howard. Featuring
musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman, the film stars Whoopi Goldberg as a
Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San
Francisco convent of Poor Clares and has to pretend to be a nun when a
mob boss puts her on his hit list. Also in the cast are Maggie Smith,
Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel.
One of the most financially successful comedies of the early 1990s,
grossing $231 million worldwide, the film was rated #83 on Bravo's The
100 Funniest Movies list.
It spawned a 1993 sequel, entitled Back in the Habit, and a musical
adaptation that premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena,
California in 2006, and opened at the West End's London Palladium with
previews from May 7, 2009. The musical then opened on Broadway at the
Broadway Theatre in April 2011, with previews beginning March 24, 2011.
Plot
The film opens in 1968 at
St. Anne's Academy, a California Roman Catholic school, where a young
girl named Deloris Wilson is scolded by Sister Immaculata (Lois de
Banzie) for wisecracking and disobedience. The setting then changes to
the present day, where Deloris (now going by the surname Van Cartier) is
a lounge singer in a 1960s-themed act called The Ronelles (a parody of
The Ronettes), who sing at The Moonlite Lounge of the Nevada Club in
Reno, Nevada, run by her boyfriend, the mobster Vince LaRocca. After
Deloris walks in on Vince having his chauffeur Ernie executed for
betrayal, Vince orders his two henchmen Joey and Willy to kill her as
well. Deloris flees Vince's casino to the local police station where
Lieutenant Eddie Souther suggests she testify against Vince if he can be
arrested and tried, but for now, she should go into witness protection
until the time comes.
Deloris is taken to St. Katherine's Parish in a seedy, run-down
neighborhood of San Francisco, where Souther suggests she take refuge in
the attached convent. Both Deloris and the stoic Reverend Mother
object, but are convinced by Souther and Monsignor O'Hara to go ahead
with it. Deloris 'becomes' a nun – habit and all – under the hand of
Reverend Mother, who gives her the religious name 'Sister Mary Clarence'
to complete the disguise. Mary Clarence objects to following the
strictures and simple life of the convent, but comes to befriend several
of the nuns, including the forever jolly Sister Mary Patrick, quiet and
meek Sister Mary Robert, and the elderly deadpan Sister Mary Lazarus.
After sneaking into a nearby bar, Mary Clarence is chastised by Reverend
Mother and put into the choir, which she has seen to be dreadful. The
choir nuns, learning that Mary Clarence has a background in music, elect
her to take over as choir director, which she accepts, and she
rearranges them to make them better singers. At Mass one Sunday, the
choir sings the "Hail Holy Queen" in the traditional manner beautifully
before shifting into a gospel and rock-and-roll-infused performance of
the hymn.
Reverend Mother is infuriated with Mary Clarence about the performance,
and orders that Mary Lazarus once again become the director of the
choir, but Monsignor O'Hara is thrilled with the performance as the
unorthodox music brought people, including teenagers, in off the
streets. Deloris convinces Monsignor O'Hara that the nuns should be
going out to clean up the neighborhood. This they do, and the choir wows
church visitors with their music, with Souther eventually attending a
performance of "My Guy" (appropriately rewritten as "My God").
Eventually, O'Hara announces to the choir that Pope John Paul II is to
visit the church to see the choir himself. Reverend Mother decides to
hand in her resignation since her authority has been unintentionally
undermined, but Mary Clarence offers to leave in her stead, to which the
Reverend Mother disagrees.
Detective Tate, a police officer on Vince's payroll, finds out where
Deloris is and contacts Vince, who sends Joey and Willy out to grab her.
Souther confronts Tate, gets him arrested, and flies to San Francisco
to try and warn Mary Clarence, but Vince's men abduct her.
The nuns, led by the Reverend Mother, risk their lives by going to Reno
to save Mary Clarence. Meanwhile, she flees Vince and his men, leading
to a chase around the casino until the nuns find her and try to sneak
out. Vince, Joey and Willy confront the nuns, but they cannot bring
themselves to shoot Deloris while she is in a nun's habit, and Reverend
Mother proclaims Deloris is indeed a nun, to convince Vince. As Vince
works up the courage to shoot her anyway, Souther bursts in and shoots
him in the arm, and has the men arrested. Reverend Mother then thanks
Deloris for everything she has done for them and agrees to remain at the
convent.
The film ends with the choir, led by Deloris, singing "I Will Follow
Him" before the Pope and a packed and refurbished St. Katherine's,
earning a loud standing ovation from the audience, the Pope, Reverend
Mother, Monsignor O'Hara and Lt. Souther. The end credits reveals that
Deloris' secret life as a nun was sold to the media and has become a
sensation. The ending of Deloris' "career" as a choir leader is revealed
through magazines and album covers and Deloris has continued leading
the choir as a famous group with published albums.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Act