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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Sister Act (1992)

Sister Act - 1992

1992's classic "Sister Act" follows the story of a Reno lounge singer who ends up in a nunnery after witnessing a mob murder.  What she does there surprises everyone.

The film's cast includes Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, Harvey Keitel, Bill Nunn, Jenifer Lewis, and Ellen Albertini Dow.

Deloris Van Cartier is a lounge singer in Reno, Nevada.  She's unhappy with the way her career is going.  She's also unhappy with the way her relationship with her boyfriend is going.

Deloris's whole life changes when she walks in on her boyfriend committing a murder.  When she runs away, he sends two men after her with guns.

She goes to the police, who tell her that her boyfriend is a high-level gangster and her testimony could put him in jail for good.  She also finds out that he has a contract out on her, so she isn't safe.

For safekeeping, Deloris is placed in witness protection, and she hides out in a San Francisco nunnery as Sister Mary Clarence.  She is completely unhappy with her new situation.

And she quickly earns the ire of the stern Mother Superior when she shows off her worldly ways.

She's even less thrilled when she goes to church and hears the nun's choir sing an off-key rendition of "Hail Holy Queen", complete with a very enthusiastic pianist.

One night, Deloris has enough of life as a nun and slips across the street to a bar for a little respite.  She's followed by two of her fellow nuns, and they have a good time singing and dancing together.  When they return, Mother Superior is waiting for them.

She punishes Deloris by having her join the choir.  The choir elects Deloris as their new leader, and Deloris quickly finds out that she's got her work cut out for her.

During their first performance, Deloris shows just what she's done with the choir.  They put a new spin on "Hail Holy Queen" that actually draws people in off the streets into the church.

And Deloris inspires the sisters to get out in the community to make a difference, the very reason why many of them became nuns in the first place.

Deloris continues to reinvent the choir with a song called "My God" (a rendition of the hit "My Guy").

Naturally, Deloris's old boyfriend finds out where she is and drags her kicking and screaming back to Reno.

Never fear.  The nuns are to the rescue and they save the day when they infiltrate a Reno casino and help save Deloris's life.

And they're back in San Francisco in time for one last concert: this one a command performance for the Pope himself.  Their song?  "I Will Follow Him".

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

   Harvey Keitel...................................Vince LaRocca

   Bill Nunn.........................................Lt. Eddie Souther

   Jenifer Lewis....................................Michelle

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

And that's it for Sister Act.  It was followed by the next year by "Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit".  During the filming of this movie's Reno scenes, the cast members would wander around the city in their nun's habits and play pranks on the various bars, casinos, restaurants, etc.  In 2010, Whoopi Goldberg starred in the London stage production of "Sister Act".  Instead of Deloris Van Cartier, she played the Mother Superior.

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