Sister Act, the unneccesary musical
I’m sorry, but i still don’t understand why this musical exists. From the moment I saw it was coming I didn’t get it. Having now seen a preview of it I’m even more baffled. Not only is it in no way unique as a story, but the talent is less and they decided to set it in the 1970s’ disco days. Why? The only useful purpose that held was to add some musical numbers of comic relief that had little or nothing to do with the main plot… The goons seducing nuns? The goons dressing ridiculous… why? Isn’t the story about faith and turning a new leaf? So you waste my time with cliché and shtick silliness that is irrelevant to that story?
The characters are also single dimensional, they have little to no arc, and by the time there is a hint of one it’s too late, I stopped caring. Not that I need arc to be happy with a character, but a conventional linear theater piece like this is dead in the water without it.
Oh, and the last song is called mirror ball and EVERY other line is about a mirror ball and THERE IS NO MIRROR BALL. I think that’s indicative. Sure everything else is shiny like a mirror ball… so what? Are we trying to subvert the audience’s expectations here? Cause nothing else does so there isn’t integrity to this assumption.
The set is crowded into the space and it always feels like the actors are about to fall off the stage. The choreography is sort of boring, but it’s hard to tell if this was anyone’s fault or that the actors were trying not to hit each other on the crowded stage.
Ultimately it needs work; there is something to the whole thing that works. The movie was good, not like a great cinematic effort, but funny and good and worth the money I remember spending on it (lest we forget the sequel). If they just did a staged version of that musical it would have been better… even with the changed up songbook with disco songs instead of oldies doo-wop style tunes. But the schlock factor kills it.
I’d say rent the movie for $1.50 and call it a night.
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