TV Tuesday: Cinderella (1997)

 

Cinderella - 1997

Welcome back to the blog!  After a brief hiatus while I was on vacation, we are back.  Thanks for sticking with us.  For today's TV Tuesday offering, we have 1997's "Cinderella", a TV movie that puts a different spin on the classic story set to Rodgers and Hammerstein's excellent music.

The film's cast includes Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Victor Garber, Paolo Montalban, Veanne Cox, and Natalie Desselle.

Cinderella, a young woman who is basically a slave to her stepmother and stepsisters, is hopeful that one day she'll find love and happiness.  An incognito prince is also hoping the same thing.  They both know that the "dearest love in all the world is waiting somewhere for me."

When the two meet up in the marketplace, the chemistry is instant.  The Prince doesn't give away that he's royalty, and all Cinderella reveals to him is her name.  They are separated when Cinderella's stepmother calls her away.

With the help of faithful family retainer Lionel, King Maximilian and Queen Constantina, the Prince's parents, plan to throw a lavish ball in order to find their son a bride.

Take a listen to this clip to listen to Queen Constantina begin the ball announcement with a run down of her son's exhaustive list of names.

Cinderella's stepmother gets her daughters prepared for the ball.  She's bound and determined to have one of them marry the Prince.

As they prepare for the ball, she counsels her daughters on the dangers of "Falling In Love With Love".

Meanwhile, Cinderella is left at home to dream up the ball "In Her Own Little Corner".

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother turns up and makes the "Impossible" possible.  She makes a way for the young girl to attend the ball, though cautions her that the magic will only last until midnight.

Cinderella arrives at the ball.  The Prince is instantly besotted and sweeps her onto the dance floor.  "Ten Minutes Ago I Met You," the two sing together.

Everyone is captivated by the beautiful young woman, even the King.  "She is stunning, isn't she," remarks Queen Constantine.  King Maximilian murmurs, "A vision...why if I were a younger man..."  The Queen gives him a look and asks, "Yes, dear?"  To which, he regains his composure and says, "Well, I'd be younger, wouldn't I?"

However, Cinderella's stepmother isn't enthralled by the woman whom she seems to recognize.

And her daughters lament over the fact that the Prince seems to prefer this mysterious girl to themselves.

Well, you know what happens.  The clock strikes midnight and Cinderella has to make a hasty exit from the ball, leaving behind one of her glass slippers.

Back at home, Cinderella's stepmother comes to realize that the mysterious woman at the ball was Cinderella.

Of course, the Prince decides to seek out the girl who captured his heart and left behind a glass slipper.

Naturally, he finds Cinderella.  Her stepmother and stepsisters are horrified when they see Cinderella's foot fit perfectly into the glass slipper.

The Prince whisks Cinderella off to the palace where they are married.  Cinderella's Fairy Godmother hovers over the proceedings while her stepmother and stepsisters have the palace gates shut in their faces.

Cast rundown:

   Brandy..........................................Cinderella

   Jason Alexander..............................Lionel

   Whoopi Goldberg............................Queen Constantina

   Whitney Houston............................Fairy Godmother

   Bernadette Peters...........................The Stepmother

   Victor Garber..................................King Maximilian

   Paolo Montalban.............................Prince Christopher

   Veanne Cox....................................Calliope

   Natalie Desselle..............................Minerva

And that's it for Cinderella.  With this movie, Brandy became the first African American to portray Cinderella.  The movie broke all viewership records at the time of its release, and it still holds the record for the best-selling video for a made for TV movie.  Whoopi Goldberg's jewels in the film were designed by Harry Winston for a cost of about $2 million.

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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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