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Sister Act
When lively lounge singer Deloris sees her mobster beau commit murder, she is relocated for her protection. Set up in the guise of a nun in a California convent, she proceeds to upend the quiet lives of the resident sisters.
1992 · Directed by Emile Ardolino · 100 min · Music · Comedy · Screenplay in the scene database · 16 frames
Tagline
No booze. No sex. No drugs. No way.
Plot
Lounge singer Deloris Wilson, performing as Deloris Van Cartier in a club in Reno, Nevada, struggles with her career as she engages in an affair with the club's married owner, gangster Vince LaRocca. After receiving a shallow gift she recognizes belongs to Vince's wife, she attempts to return it, only to witness him murder an informant. Concerned she is a liability, Vince orders his men to eliminate her, forcing Deloris to escape and seek help from the Reno Police Department. Lieutenant Eddie Souther, who sees Deloris' information as important in bringing down Vince, places her in witness protection, and brings her to the struggling convent of Saint Katherine's Parish, located in a run-down San Francisco neighborhood. While Deloris and the convent's head nun, the Reverend Mother, object to this arrangement, Souther and the parish priest of St. Katherine's, Monsignor O'Hara, convince them to go along with the proposal; in particular, because Souther promises to compensate the convent financially for their assistance.
Disguised as "Sister Mary Clarence", Deloris initially has difficulty dealing with the rigid and simple convent life and butts heads with Reverend Mother, but finds herself befriending the other nuns, including the optimistic and upbeat Sister Mary Patrick, the elderly deadpan Sister Mary Lazarus, and the shy young Novice Sister Mary Robert. One night, after a poorly attended Sunday Mass — caused by the lackluster performance from the convent's choir, led by Mary Lazarus — Deloris decides she needs a break and sneaks out to a bar, unintentionally causing Mary Patrick and Mary Robert to follow her. After they are discovered by the Reverend Mother, she initially considers kicking Deloris out, but instead orders her to join the struggling choir. With her singing experience, Deloris is elected to take over as their director and transforms the choir.
At the next Sunday Mass, Deloris leads the much-improved choir in a traditional hymn of "Hail Holy Queen", then shifts into a combined gospel and rock and roll interpretation. Although Reverend Mother is infuriated, Monsignor O'Hara congratulates the choir for their unorthodox performance, as new people were attracted to the service. Convinced by Deloris (who cleverly credits Reverend Mother with the idea), he allows the nuns to clean the church and help revitalize the neighborhood. Their singing and efforts attract media attention, and the parish thrives.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Paul Rudnick
- Cinematography: Adam Greenberg
- Edited by: Colleen Halsey, Richard Halsey
- Music: Marc Shaiman
- Production design: Jackson De Govia
- Produced by: Teri Schwartz
Cast
- Whoopi Goldberg as Deloris Van Cartier / Sister Mary Clarence
- Maggie Smith as Mother Superior
- Kathy Najimy as Sister Mary Patrick
- Wendy Makkena as Sister Mary Robert
- Mary Wickes as Sister Mary Lazarus
- Harvey Keitel as Vince LaRocca
- Bill Nunn as Lt. Eddie Souther
- Robert Miranda as Joey
- Richard Portnow as Willy
- Ellen Albertini Dow as Choir Nun
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Touchstone Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1, Scott Rudin Productions
- Budget: $31,000,000
- Box office: $231,605,150
- Themes: concert, nun, church choir, dark comedy, witness protection, gospel, singer, murder, singing nun, fish out of water
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