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Sister Act
DVD case cover for Sister Act
Directed by	Emile Ardolino
Produced by	Scott Rudin & Teri Schwartz
Written by	Joseph Howard
Starring	Whoopi Goldberg
Music by	Marc Shaiman
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	29 May 1992 (USA)
Running time	100 min.
Language	English
Followed by	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Sister Act is a 1992 comedy movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, directed by Emile Ardolino with musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman, and released by Touchstone Pictures. Also in the cast are Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel. The film revolves around the comedic antics of a showgirl who has to pretend to be a nun and lie-low in a convent when a mob boss puts her on his hit list. This film is number 83 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".

The film spawned a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, which was released in 1993. It also inspired a stage musical version that premiered in the Pasadena Playhouse at Pasadena, CA with an original run that lasted from October 24, 2006 to November 26, 2006.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Trivia 4 Musical 5 External links

Whoopi Goldberg plays Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno, Nevada lounge singer who is unknowingly dating a (married) mobster Vince (Harvey Keitel). When she goes to him to break off their relationship, she inadvertently becomes a witness to a murder, and she narrowly escapes from his goons. A police lieutenant, Eddie Souther, is charged with keeping her safe until she can testify in court against her former boyfriend's activities. She reluctantly goes into hiding as a nun in a Catholic convent, where she wears a habit and is given the name "Sister Mary Clarence".

She chafes at the austere lifestyle of the convent and grates on the nerves of the Abbess (Maggie Smith), who puts her in the convent's choir (lackluster and off-key) to keep her out of trouble; but this is where she shines, taking over the choir and putting a new touch on old songs. She has the choir swinging and singing to gospel renditions of hymns, and soul music adapted to have religious themes (for example, Mary Wells' "My Guy" changed into "My God"). Despite the protests of the Mother Superior, she brings new vigor into the convent and leads it in cleaning up the surrounding neighborhood. Her efforts draw a lot of attention, even from the Pope himself. Meanwhile, Deloris is finding peace and purpose.

However, her past is never too far away, and when it finally catches up with her, Deloris is kidnapped along with Sister Mary Robert (Wendy Makkena). Sister Mary Robert escapes and informs the other nuns of what has happened. The nuns plead with Mother Superior to rescue Deloris. They then make their way to Reno, where Deloris has been taken. Along with the police, Deloris is saved and Vincent is arrested.

Deloris and the nuns perform their songs in front of the Pope. Deloris becomes an instant celebrity and everyone rejoices.

• Whoopi Goldberg - Deloris Van Cartier/Sister Mary Clarence
• Maggie Smith - Mother Superior
• Kathy Najimy - Sister Mary Patrick
• Wendy Makkena - Sister Mary Robert
• Mary Wickes - Sister Mary Lazarus
• Harvey Keitel - Vince LaRocca
• Bill Nunn - Lt. Eddie Souther
• Joseph Maher - Bishop O'Hara
• Robert Miranda - Joey
• Richard Portnow - Willy

This section does not cite its references or sources. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) Any unsourced material that has been or is likely to be challenged may be removed at any time. This article has been tagged since February 2007.

• The "Person enters a convent to escape retaliation" plot was previously used in the 1990 Eric Idle/Robbie Coltrane comedy Nuns on the Run.
• Screenwriter Paul Rudnick wrote the original script back in 1987 and Bette Midler was supposed to be cast for the role of Dolores. After Midler had left the project, the script underwent several re-writes by screenwriters Carrie Fisher, Eleanor Bergstein, Nancy Meyers, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr. and Robert Harling. As Rudnick did not consider the final draft of the movie as his own work, the pseudonym 'Joseph Howard' was chosen by him after his own suggestion for the writer's credit ('Screenplay by Goofy') had been rejected.
• The Blues Brothers make a subtle cameo appearance in this film, as two figures distantly silhouetted by the church's front doors in the film's final scene. They are standing in the same poses in which they stood in an early scene of The Blues Brothers movie.^{[citation needed]}
• C&C Music Factory had a hit single from the film's soundtrack, "Just A Touch Of Love."
• The church in which Whoopi Goldberg takes refuge is St. Paul's Catholic Church located at 221 Valley Street (near Church St.) in Noe Valley, a neighborhood of San Francisco.
• An opening scene shows Dolores as a young girl, played by Isis Carmen Jones. Jones had previously played a "de-aged" version of Goldberg's character Guinan, in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• The Reno police station shown is actually the main post office in downtown Reno, with some (real) patrol cars parked outside for set dressing. The patrol cars were driven by officers working security on the set. The real police station in Reno did not look as much like a police station to the film's director.
• Whoopi Goldberg and the film "nuns" performed at a 1992 Democratic fundraiser for Bill Clinton.
• Whoopi Goldberg's character understands her name in the convent, Mary Clarence, as a reference to Clarence, the cross-eyed lion in the 1960s TV show Daktari.^{[citation needed]}

The film inspired a stage musical adaptation. The show premiered on October 24, 2006, in Pasadena Playhouse at Pasadena, CA and was extended twice to finally end on December 23, 2006. After its run in Pasadena the show travelled to the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA where it ran from January 17, 2007 to February 25, 2007.

The musical was written by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner and directed by Peter Schneider. Songs were composed by Alan Menken, with lyrics written by Glenn Slater.

MPAA RATING: PG (PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED)

• Sister Act at the Internet Movie Database