Review of Sister Act (1992) by Chris B — 01 Feb 2012

A divine comedy (pun intended.) How can you possibly get more fish-out-of-water than a lounge singer disguised as a nun? Really the humorous situations almost write themselves. So I have to give a lot of credit to the script writer who came up with the idea in the first place. Then the casting director needs a pat on the back for putting Whoopi Goldberg in the lead role packed in with a convent full of white nuns.

The whole thing just sounds hilarious on paper, so the humor is sprinkled throughout. From Delores trying to lead prayer at her first meal, to gangsters trying to convince themselves she isn't a real nun, I chuckle during the whole film. Then there is the music. I actually used to mess around with changing the lyrics of secular songs to make them work in church as a kid. I had no idea there were songs out there that could be taken almost as written and used in this context. Well done by the music arrangers on this film giving new meaning to these tunes.

I was actually a teen when I first saw this movie, and I probably wasn't the target audience. Yet, somehow, I fell in love with this goofy film. I almost feel like it breaks age boundaries by simply putting Whoopi in the most unlikely place and letting her just be herself. It's not a deep movie, it's not a realistic movie, it's probably not even a movie a Protestant like me should endorse. But I can't resist it and think it is one of the more entertaining movies from the early 90s.