Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit (1993)

 

Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit - 1993

Coming up next is 1993's "Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit", the sequel to the highly-acclaimed and immensely popular "Sister Act".  In this story, we see singer Deloris Van Cartier head back under cover to help her nun friends save a school from closing.

The film's cast includes Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, James Coburn, Michael Jeter, Barnard Hughes, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alanna Ubach, Ryan Toby, Devin Kaman, Ron Johnson, Brad Sullivan, Thomas Gottschalk, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ellen Albertini Dow, and Jenifer Lewis

After a group of nun's helped hide her from her mobster boyfriend and she turned them into a world-renowned choir, Deloris Van Cartier has become a very successful singer in Las Vegas.

On the final night of her show, Deloris's old friends come to see her and say that they have been sent by Mother Superior to get her because her help is urgently needed.

So, it's back to San Francisco for Deloris.  When Mother Superior sees her, the older nun welcomes her back with open arms.

Mother Superior wastes no time in getting down to business.  The nuns are now teachers, and the school they are teaching at is being threatened with closure unless its reputation can be improved.  Plus, the students are extremely unruly and undisciplined.  Mother Superior wants Deloris to teach music and help get things in order.

Reluctantly, Deloris agrees, and it's back in the habit she goes, along with having to cope with the austere living conditions of a nun.  Once again, Deloris becomes Sister Mary Clarence.

The school is headed by a group of very strict monks who would be very upset if they found out that Deloris wasn't really a nun.  Also, Mr. Crisp, a hostile man who is bent on the school's closure, makes things difficult.

Right away, Deloris is confronted with a group of unruly students.  Never fear, she can out-attitude any attitude they throw in her direction.

Once she gets their behavior under control, Deloris decides that the best way to work with the students is to turn them into a choir.  Naturally, the kids balk at the idea.

So, she takes them on a little field trip to see the famous singing nuns to give them a preview of what a proper choir could be.

An idea comes up that once the kids are in fine singing form, they should enter a choir competition in order to save the school.

The kids are definitely not without talent.  A couple of students sing "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" inside the school chapel.

Once they're ready, Deloris has the kids sing "O Happy Day" in front of the entire student body.

At the competition, the kids are pretty nervous once they see their competition.

The choir turns out a fantastic urban contemporary gospel performance of "Joyful, Joyful".

It should come as no surprise that the choir wins the entire competition, enabling the school to remain open.

At the close of the film, the kids find out that Deloris really isn't a nun and according to rumor she is a Las Vegas showgirl.  Deloris says in response that "I am not, nor have I ever been a Las Vegas showgirl.  I am a headliner."

Cast rundown:

   Whoopi Goldberg................................Deloris Van Cartier

   Maggie Smith.....................................Mother Superior

   Kathy Najimy......................................Sister Mary Patrick

   Wendy Makkena..................................Sister Mary Robert

   Mary Wickes.......................................Sister Mary Lazarus

   James Coburn.....................................Mr. Crisp

   Michael Jeter.......................................Father Ignatius

   Barnard Hughes..................................Father Maurice

   Lauryn Hill..........................................Rita Watson

   Jennifer Love Hewitt............................Margaret

   Alanna Ubach......................................Maria

   Ryan Toby...........................................Ahmal

   Devin Kaman......................................Frankie

   Ron Johnson.......................................Sketch

   Brad Sullivan......................................Father Thomas

   Thomas Gottschalk..............................Father Wolfgang

   Sheryl Lee Ralph.................................Florence Watson

   Ellen Albertini Dow..............................Choir Nun

   Jenifer Lewis......................................Vegas Backup Singer

And that's all for Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit.  The "Sister Act" films are enduringly popular.  In December 2020, Whoopi Goldberg announced that she would be reprising the role of Deloris Van Cartier in a film she will co-produce with Tyler Perry.  The soundtrack is also still popular.  In 2015, the arrangement for "Joyful, Joyful" was used at a royal wedding in Sweden.

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A Madea Christmas (2013)

 

A Madea Christmas - 2013

Next up we have 2013's "A Madea Christmas", a film in which we see family matriarch Madea disperse some home-grown wisdom to her family as she helps them navigate the roads of lies, deceit, and Christmas all at once.

The film's cast includes Tyler Perry, Anna Maria Horsford, Kathy Najimy, Larry The Cable Guy, Chad Michael Murray, Tika Sumpter, Eric Lively, JR Lemon, Alicia Witt, Lisa Whelchel, and Noah Urrea.

After getting fired from her job in a department store for insulting a customer, Madea agrees to take a drive to visit her niece Eileen's daughter for the Christmas holidays.

Eileen's daughter Lacey is a teacher at a small school in rural Alabama, something that Eileen is not happy about.  Lacey is much loved by the staff and students of the school, especially a boy named Bailey, who has to balance his schoolwork with the demands of his father at home.  Lacey also has to find a way to stage the town's Christmas Jubilee with the realization that the sponsors don't want to keep "Christ" in Christmas.

It's quite a drive for Madea and Eileen, who hitch a ride with Lacey's old boyfriend Oliver.  When Madea has to stop off to use the restroom, she gets more than she bargained for in pursuit of a bathroom.  When she's directed to a doorway, she turns around and bolts after seeing what is inside.

When Eileen and Madea arrive at Lacey's house, they are introduced to Conner, who is presented as a farm hand on Lacey's property.  In reality, he and Lacey are married.  They just haven't worked up the courage to tell Eileen.

While visiting Lacey, Madea is recruited to watch Lacey's class while she is in a quick meeting.  Madea proceeds to tell the class the hip-hop version of the Christmas Story.  The Virgin Mary (J. Blige) and her husband, Joe (Manganiello), and their quest to get to the Holy City of Birmingham to have baby Jesus.  "And as she was there, they were tryin' to find somewhere to have the baby, but they kept goin' to all these hotels and wouldn't none of 'em let 'em in.  Marriott.  Shut the door.  Hilton.  Shut the door.  Tried to get to the Ritz Carlton, they said, 'You don't belong here'.  Everybody just got put out.  They went to the Motel 6, they didn't even leave the light on for her.  She was in the dark," explains Madea.

Madea gets extremely agitated when she realizes that her purse was stolen when her back was turned.  "Where's my purse?" she asks threateningly to the class.

In true Madea fashion, she finds the perpetrator and teaches them a lesson they'll will never forget.

Back at the house, Conner's folksy parents, Buddy and Kim, arrive to spend Christmas with Conner and Lacey.  While they don't agree that the couple hasn't told Eileen the truth about their relationship, they reluctantly agree to go along with the story that Conner is the farm hand.

When Eileen meets Conner's parents, she makes it very clear that she's not thrilled about their presence in her daughter's home.

And she doesn't endear herself to Kim.  Eileen chops down a tree from the backyard to use as the Christmas tree.  This tree had been planted by Kim in remembrance of her late father.  Eileen just shrugs it off.

Eventually, Madea and Buddy have to teach Conner a lesson about deceit and standing up to Eileen.  They also teach him a thing or two about farming.  Madea falls in the "mud" after getting stuck only to find out that it's not "mud" at all.

By the end of the film, everything turns out all right.  Eileen comes to accept Conner as her son-in-law, and the whole family turns out for the Christmas Jubilee, which goes off without a hitch.

Even Lacey's mentee Bailey is able to sing "Mary Did You Know?" to start things off.  He's watched proudly by his father, who has learned a valuable lesson concerning his son and the dreams that he has.

Cast rundown:

   Tyler Perry.................................Madea

   Anna Maria Horsford...................Eileen Murphy

   Kathy Najimy.............................Kim Williams

   Larry The Cable Guy....................Buddy Williams

   Chad Michael Murray...................Tanner McCoy

   Tika Sumpter.............................Lacey Williams

   Eric Lively..................................Conner Williams

   JR Lemon..................................Oliver

   Alicia Witt..................................Amber McCoy

   Lisa Whelchel.............................Nancy Porter

   Noah Urrea................................Bailey McCoy

And that's all for A Madea Christmas.  The film takes place in the fictional town of Bucktussle, Alabama.  While there really isn't a Bucktussle, there is a town called Bug Tussle in the vicinity of the fictional movie town.  Alicia Witt's character Amber (mother of Bailey McCoy) says that she never had much schooling.  In reality, Alicia Witt graduated high school at the age of fourteen.

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