Sister Act
Directed by Emile Ardolino
Whoopi Goldberg
is a comic delight in a film finally worthy of the comedienne's
talents. Goldberg stars as a Reno lounge singer who, upon
witnessing a gangland murder, is sent to hide out at a San
Francisco convent, run by the inestimable Maggie Smith.
Captivating the order one by one, Whoopi does anything but lay low
when she takes control of the church's choir and turns them into
an overnight sensation. As would be expected, a lot of the humor
stems from the nuns engaging in very un-nun-like behavior. But
most of the comedy is sharper than that suggests. And though the
premise is strictly formulaic, it's one Hollywood formula which
works. Among the great pleasures of the film is the sight of those
nuns singing '60s pop tunes -- "I Will Follow Him" takes
on a whole new meaning. As an elderly nun, it's good to see Mary
Wickes again, and Kathy Najimy steals every scene she's in as an
unbelievably perky sister. This surprise box-office hit was
originally written by Paul Rudnick for Bette Midler, but after she
left the project, he took his name off the credits.
