Remember when they made a movie about Whoopi Goldberg as a nightclub–singer–turned–nun on the run from the mob and it was the greatest thing you had ever seen? Remember when they did it again? Based loosely on a true story, “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” combines gospel music, dancing nuns and the ever–amazing Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”) into one of those rare moments when the sequel is better than the original.
The last time we saw Goldberg as Deloris van Cartier, she was singing for the pope at the end of “Sister Act.” No longer evading the mob and having accumulated widespread fame, Deloris returns to her job as a nightclub singer in Reno, Nevada. The sequel opens with the rest of the nuns (the ever–hilarious and spirited Sisters Mary Patrick, Mary Lazarus and Mary Robert) asking Deloris to return to her position as Sister Mary Clarence and come join them as a music teacher at a languid, on–the–verge–of–closing school in San Francisco. Deloris agrees, without realizing her students—led by a pre–imprisoned Lauryn Hill—will be rowdy and uninterested in anything Deloris has to say.
Through the power of music, Deloris unites the students into forming an all–state competitive choir, taking them all the way to the state championship, which they win—impressing the diocese representatives enough to keep their school open.
In a testament to the power of gospel music, “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” is the definition of a feel–good movie. But it’s more than a quirky film staring Whoopi: the film was the launching point for careers like Lauryn Hill’s and Jennifer Love Hewitt’s, and its soundtrack is one of the most popular of all time. Gospel versions of Motown staples and R&B classics give the film its backbone, and Lauryn Hill’s unforgettable performance of “His Eye is on the Sparrow” can jerk tears even from cynics. A throwback to a time when hair scrunchies and neon pants were the norm, this movie will have you shouting, “Oh! Happy day.”
