History Film / SisterAct

In the first '''Sister Act''', Deloris witnesses her [[TheMafia Mafioso]] boyfriend commit a murder. She enters WitnessProtection and is forcibly inducted into an abbey as "Sister Mary Clarence". The only other person at the abbey who knows her true identity is Mother Superior. Delores has to follow the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, hard work and getting up at 5 AM. Eventually, she becomes the leader of the abbey choir, and she decides to [[BlitheSpirit make some improvements by combining spirituals and R&B...]]

* MagicalNegro: Delores, especially as the TokenBlack of the convent in the first film.

Two films that star WhoopiGoldberg as Delores Van Cartier, a Reno lounge singer who pretends to be a nun and introduces excitement into the formerly-solemn local church music.

In the first '''Sister Act''', Delores witnesses her [[TheMafia Mafioso]] boyfriend commit a murder. She enters WitnessProtection and is forcibly inducted into an abbey as "Sister Mary Clarence". The only other person at the abbey who knows her true identity is Mother Superior. Delores has to follow the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, hard work and getting up at 5 AM. Eventually, she becomes the leader of the abbey choir, and she decides to [[BlitheSpirit make some improvements by combining spirituals and R&B...]]

In '''Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit''', Delores returns to visit her old friends at the convent and finds that the community school they've been teaching at is slowly going under. Delores agrees to return as Sister Mary Clarence and teach the music class to a large group of very disinterested teenagers (led by a young Lauryn Hill). After a series of pranks being pulled on her, she strikes back in her own way and humbles the kids so that she can work with them. She decides to form the kids into a choir, singing the same sort of music from the previous film.

* CurseCutShort: Delores starts to say that the nuns' food taste like "shit"; Reverend Mother stops her by declaring a vow of silence.

-->'''Choleric:''' [[SassyBlackWoman Delores/Sister Mary Clarence]]

* GroinAttack: Delores does this to both of Vince's goons after a prayer on her knees.

* InsistentTerminology: Delores is ''not'' a Las Vegas show girl. She is a ''headliner!''

* TakeAThirdOption: Regarding singing the traditional way as Reverend Mother wanted or the new popular way brought by Delores in the Pope visit. They ended up singing the first verse traditionally and then transitioning to the newer way.

* WitnessProtection: Delores enters this in the first movie.

* AMinorKidroduction: The first film opens with Delores (about age nine) getting into trouble at a Catholic school for naming The Apostles as [[Music/TheBeatles John, Paul, George, and Ringo]].
* AWildRapperAppears: "Who Got the Flo?" and the rap sequence in "Joyful, Joyful".

* GroinAttack: Delores does this to get away from Vince's goons.

* TheMafia

-->'''Dolores''': I only have one thing to say to you, Vince.
-->'''Sister Mary Robert''': *gasp* Delores!
-->'''Dolores''':...[[PrecisionFStrike Bless you.]]

* WitnessProtection

!!Tropes:

* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: DoubleSubverted. Near the end of the film, Delores escapes into a casino, where she sticks out because she's wearing her nun's habit . . . until a bunch of the other nuns also run into the casino to find her.

* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: Near the end of the film, Delores escapes into a casino, where she sticks out because she's wearing her nun's habit . . . until a bunch of the other nuns also run into the casino to find her.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Justified; how many people know that the Anglicans and Orthodox, among others, have nuns??

* AMinorKidroduction: The first film opens with Delores (about age nine) getting into trouble at a Catholic school for naming The Apostles as [[TheBeatles John, Paul, George, and Ringo]].

* AMinorKidroduction: The first film opens with Delores (about age nine) getting into trouble at a Catholic school for naming The Apostles as [[TheBeatles Peter, Paul, John and Ringo]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Whoopi as a nun... This is probably going to be awesome.]]

* AMinorKidtroduction: The first film opens with Delores (about age nine) getting into trouble at a Catholic school for naming The Apostles as [[TheBeatles Peter, Paul, John and Ringo]].

Two films that detail the hip WhoopiGoldberg as Reno lounge singer Delores Van Cartier who hides at a Convent and helps the other nuns out by introducing "heathen" ideals with a sense of joy and excitement instead of solemnity in their music.

In the first '''Sister Act''' Delores witnesses her [[TheMafia Mafioso]] boyfriend commit a murder. She is entered into WitnessProtection and forcibly inducted into an abbey, where the only person who knows "Sister Mary Clarence" is in witness protection is Mother Superior. Delores has to follow the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, hard work and getting up at 5 AM. Despite her dire situation, and her thought patterns weren't especially holy before, she finds ways to rebel and is in a constant struggle against Mother Superior.

In a last ditch effort to get her to truly act like a nun, she is also inducted into the abbey choir, where situations put her in a position to straighten it up. After getting them to actually sing in tune, she decides to [[BlitheSpirit make her own improvements by combining spirituals and R&B...]]

A very popular film, arguably Whoopi Goldberg's best role ever, with a cast of beloved character actors and a magnificently long-suffering Maggie Smith as the Mother Superior. Despite the Mafia storyline, the real story comes from how the amazing music from the choir restores church attendance and that music is often the one thing that can bring people together. In 2006, the movie was [[ScreenToStageAdaptation made into a stage musical]], with songs by AlanMenken (yes, ''that'' AlanMenken).

In '''Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit''', Delores returns to visit her old friends at the convent and finds that the community school they've been teaching at is slowly going under. Delores agrees to return as Sister Mary Clarence and teach the music class to a large group of very disinterested teenagers (led by a young Lauryn Hill). After the requisite pranks being pulled on her, she strikes back in her own way and humbles the kids so that she can work with them.

Finding out about a state choir contest and the kids have a knack for harmonizing, she decides to shape up the kids by forming a choir and integrating it into the music they like... her specialty.

The movie certainly has its moments, although hampered by a fairly weak method of getting Delores back.

A very popular film, arguably Whoopi Goldberg's best role ever, with a cast of beloved character actors and Maggie Smith as the Mother Superior. Despite the Mafia storyline, the real story comes from how the amazing music from the choir restores church attendance and that music is often the one thing that can bring people together. In 2006, the movie was [[ScreenToStageAdaptation made into a stage musical]], with songs by AlanMenken (yes, ''that'' AlanMenken).

A very popular film, arguably Whoopi Goldberg's best role ever. Despite the Mafia storyline, the real story comes from how the amazing music from the choir restores church attendance and that music is often the one thing that can bring people together. In 2006, the movie was [[ScreenToStageAdaptation made into a stage musical]], with songs by AlanMenken (yes, ''that'' AlanMenken).

* AMinorKidtroduction: The first film opens with Delores (about age nine) getting into trouble at a Catholic school for naming The Apostles as [[TheBeatles Peter, Paul, John and Ringo]].
* AllChristianityIsCatholic: Justifed; no other Christian denominations have nuns.

A very popular film, arguably Whoopi Goldberg's best role ever. Despite the Mafia storyline, the real story comes from how the amazing music from the choir restores church attendance and that music is often the one thing that can bring people together. In 2006, the movie was [[ScreenToStageAdaptation made into a stage musical]], with songs by Alan Menkin.

* FakeShemp: Pope John Paul II's face is never shown, even though he appears from behind (presumably because he's too famous to portray with an actor and they could never get the real Pope to make a cameo in this film).

* InsistentTerminology: Delores is ''not'' a lounge act. She is a ''headliner!''

** Notable for having a particularly weak and vague motivation, where all we get is that it has something to do with Rita's father.[[NostalgiaChick "You're not in there believing in yourself, are you?"]]

A very popular film, arguably Whoopi Goldberg's best role ever. Despite the Mafia storyline, the real story comes from how the amazing music from the choir restores church attendance and that music is often the one thing that can bring people together. In 2006, the movie was [[ScreenToStageAdaptation made into a stage musical]].

* SettingUpdate: The musical changes the setting to 1978, so that Alan Menkin could do disco style songs.