Sister Act
- For a musical inspired by a film, see Sister Act (musical).
| Sister Act | |
| DVD case cover for Sister Act | |
| Directed by | Emile Ardolino |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Teri Schwartz |
| Written by | Joseph Howard |
| Starring | Whoopi Goldberg |
| Music by | Marc Shaiman |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Released | 29 May, 1992 (USA) |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Language | English |
| Followed by | Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit |
| IMDb profile | |
Sister Act is a 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, directed by Emile Ardolino, and released by Touchstone Pictures. Also in the cast are Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel.
This movie inspired the stage musical that will premiere in October 24 - November 26,2006 in Pasadena Playhouse at Pasadena, CA.
Whoopi Goldberg plays Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno, Nevada lounge singer who is dating a mobster. When she goes to him to break off their relationship, she accidentally becomes a witness to a murder, and she narrowly escapes from his goons. A police lieutenant is charged with keeping her safe until she can testify in court against her former boyfriend's activities. He makes her go 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 Mother Superior, who puts her in charge of the convent's choir (lackluster and off-key) to keep her out of trouble—but this is where she shines, and before long she has the choir belting out gospel renditions of classic hymnals, and soul music adapted to have religious themes. Despite the protestations 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 a visit from the Pope; and meanwhile Deloris herself is finding peace and purpose.
This film spawned a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, released in 1993. It was not as popular as the original.
Trivia
Whoopi Goldberg's role was originally written for Bette Midler.
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.
The church and convent scenes were filmed in St. Paul's Church in San Francisco. Note that the address that Clarence gives to Vince is the church's real address: Church St. and 29th St.