Tag: Music

‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ (TFD Supplies) Review

My first TFD Supplies movie review! I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity. Please visit the original link below the trailer embed!

https://www.tfdsupplies.com/blogs/educator-panel/sister-act-2-movie-review

The first Sister Act succeeded on the combined humor of Whoopi Goldberg’s (Ghost, The Color Purple) fish out of water comedy and the villain turned ally of Maggie Smith’s (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) deftly named Mother Superior. The first film ended on a high note with Sister Mary Clarence, AKA Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg’s character), surviving her killer mobster ex-boyfriend, bringing St. Paul’s Catholic Church back to prominence, and successfully repairing the church’s defunct choir. During the credits it is revealed that Deloris becomes a successful Vegas performer and everyone lives happily ever after.

Deloris aka Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) in ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ (photo: Touchstone Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures)

Back in the Habit picks up soon after Deloris becomes a successful Las Vegas headliner. Sisters Mary Patrick, played by Kathy Najimy (King of the Hill, Hocus Pocus), Mary Lazarus, played by Mary Wickes (White Christmas,The Hunchback of Notre Dame), and Mary Robert, played by Wendy Makkena (State of Play, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), travel to Las Vegas to seek out Deloris’s help. The local school which the nuns teach at in San Francisco, St. Francis Academy, is in dire straits; without a miracle the school is going to close. Mother Superior believes that Dolores could help reform the inner-city school’s rowdy music class… by reviving her former guise as Sister Mary Clarence.

The unruly class led by Rita Watson (Lauryn Hill) in ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ (photo: Touchstone Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures)

Sister Mary Clarence underestimates the disrespectful class filled with loud, raucous high schoolers who have no intention of learning. Led by Rita Watson, played by multi Grammy award winning singer Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, The Fugees’ The Score), the class does their best to undermine Sister Mary Clarence. While Sister Mary Clarence squares off against the unruly class the suspicious school board, led by Mr. Crisp, played by James Coburn (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven), suspect “Sister Mary Clarence” isn’t who she purports to be. Will Sister Mary Clarence be able to tame the wild class? Will the school board find out Sister Mary Clarence’s secret identity?

Sister Mary Patrick (Kathy Najimy), Deloris aka Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg), and Sister Mary Robert (Wendy Makkena) in ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ (photo: Touchstone Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures)

The brilliance of Sister Act 2 is the simplicity of the story. It’s a classic teacher vs. student story, filled with entertaining and well-choreographed musical segments. Both teacher and class eventually learn something new about one another, ultimately bringing them together. Unbelievably, the film is directed by classic action star Bill Duke (Predator, Commando), who has 60 other directing credits! Despite the film having a low metascore on IMDb, it is a classic 90’s film, which are without a doubt formulaic in the way they are written, directed, shot, and edited. The thing is… the formula works. It is a great example of 90’s humor and culture as well as having a heartwarming story of coming together to becomes something greater.

Deloris aka Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) takes the class on a field trip in ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ (photo: Touchstone Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures)

Whoopi Goldberg does a fantastic job of slowly breaking through to the stubborn students. Conversely, she also learns to open her heart to hard cases like Rita. Like the first film, she transforms a ragtag group of off-key, self-conscious kids into a confident, unified choir. Her character is based, in part, on a real nun, Mother Dolores Hart, and there is also contention that the character was based on Delois Blakely, who sued Disney and Sony Pictures. While it is a stretch, I believe the film is a great demonstration of a teacher going up against the odds to break through and help the proverbial unruly, disobedient classroom. The film’s musical numbers add heart, soul, and tons of emotion as the students slowly begin to believe in themselves and climactically compete in the All-State Choir Championship. 

MPAA Rating: Rated PG for some mild language
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Produced by: Touchstone Pictures
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures

Yesterday Review

Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis Imagine a World Where The Beatles Never Existed

Based on a story by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, About Time) and Jack Barth (Japanorama, The Fabulous Picture Show), with a screenplay written by the former, comes the delightfully refreshing Yesterday, directed by Danny Boyle (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire). In this comedy/fantasy/musical Jack Malik, played by big-screen newcomer Himesh Patel (EastEnders, Damned), is a struggling singer/songwriter with his childhood best friend Ellie, played by Lily James (Baby Driver, Cinderella), as his manager and sole believer. Working part-time at a mass grocery store in London, Jack is well-liked by his customers, but very dismally received by his musical audience. When he decides to quit the music business for good, against Ellie’s fervent wishes, he sets off for home on his bicycle with his guitar strapped to his back. This is where things get weird.

In a freak, global power outage that happens at the very moment Jack is crossing the street on his bicycle, a bus hits him. Waking up in the hospital to his friend Ellie, he discovers he has lost two teeth, but other than that he is physically okay. When Ellie and Jack’s other friends come to take Jack out after he leaves the hospital, they shower him with gag gifts including a new guitar. When they ask him to play a song, Jack decides to sing Yesterday by the Beatles. His friends are absolutely blown away and continue to ask him how he came up with something so beautiful. After a bit of Google searching, Jack discovers that after the accident/power outage the Beatles have ceased to exist. In a moment of existential crisis, Jack decides to play the Beatles songs as if he wrote them and slowly but surely he becomes more and more popular, finally realizing his dream of becoming a famous singer/songwriter, with his trusty roadie/comedic sidekick, Rocky, played by Joel Fry (Game of Thrones, 10,000 B.C.).

Without spoiling things, Richard Curtis has written yet another fantastic screenplay that warps the real world we live in just slightly enough to be utterly bizarre. Danny Boyle takes this screenplay and perfectly adapts the feeling it is to be trapped in a small hometown with desperate aspirations to get out and be successful. The film is filled with dry British humour as well as plenty of music numbers, mainly by Jack, but also by the self-deprecating Ed Sheeran, who helps Jack along the way. The film challenges what the definition of success is with Jack being pulled between Ellie and his new manager, Debra Hammer, played by Saturday Night Live alum Kate McKinnon (The Spy Who Dumped Me, Ghostbusters 2016).

Danny Boyle proves he is the master of tackling different genres as he directs Yesterday with so much ease, it’s as if he has been making comedies his entire career. Well, when you look at his filmography, I suppose he does have a knack for comedy, even in his more twisted film 127 Hours. It’s truly inspiring that he can make so many truly great films that touch on so many different unique genres. He directs the actors extremely well, as each and every character in the film is just that: a character. Very memorable performances given, especially by the supporting cast, with shout outs to Jack’s hilarious parents Sheila & Jed Malik, played by Meera Syal (Doctor Strange, Absolutely Anything) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Absolutely Anything, London Boulevard) respectively. Kate McKinnon injects her own dry sense of humor into the veritable “devil on the shoulder” talent manager. Himesh Patel and Lily James own the screen with their charisma and charm, both dealing with an odd situation in completely different ways. Patel also proves he has a very beautiful voice, and that he can carry a movie on his shoulders, as he sings the majority of the songs in the film himself. 

With such a wacky world-building device as a mass blackout where things are literally forgotten from the world, it’s only fitting that Jon Harris (127 Hours, Kingsman: The Secret Service) edits Yesterday. Harris’s films are consistently edited with a fresh and kinetic style like no other. With one Oscar nomination under his belt already for 127 Hours, don’t be surprised if his name comes up during awards season. Filled with tons of interesting title crawls introducing the many different locations the characters visit, Yesterdayis a melodically, warm summer film. Combined with the lovely & colorful cinematography from Christopher Ross (Black Sea, Blackout) Yesterday is, simply put, the feel-good movie of the summer. If you enjoy the Beatles, wacky British humour, and/or Danny Boyle, I highly recommend this film, which takes a pretty insane plot device to lengths you couldn’t imagine.