 Hello, and welcome to Release Date Rewind. My name is Marc J. Parker, and I am a film lover, filmmaker, film celebrator. And normally this is an audio podcast, wherever you get your podcasts on your favorite apps. But thanks to Portland Media Center, you are about to watch the video component of this show, where I celebrate movie anniversaries with my friends. Each month, I usually talk about two different movies that I love with different friends, and we talk about the making of the movies, trivia, any fun memories associated with them. So I hope you enjoy, because now it's time to Rewind. Look at me! I'm a kidwin! I'd like to offer a great big hi there and hello to Sister Mary Clarence. This stuff is terrible, it tastes like shit. Last but not least, on the actor front, Harvey Keitel, of course. He was having a huge year because Reservoir Dogs and the film Bad Lieutenant, which I've never seen but I know is a big deal, I think he was full frontal nudity, lots of violence, those all came out in 1992 with Sister Act. And he was just nominated the year before, or no, earlier this year in 1992, for the Oscar for his role in Bugsy. So he was also in Thelma and Louise, Last Temptation of Christ, so he was a big deal. And it's funny, my memory of the movie, I remembered him more. I feel like, because this was my first time watching this in a long time, I just felt like he was such a presence on screen that I actually thought we checked in with him more. Well, he's always sort of in the background, right? He's always like, he's just scary, you know? And Lieutenant Eddie, Bill Nunn, talks about him a lot, you know, with Whoopi on the phone and stuff. So yeah, he's a presence throughout the whole thing, obviously. So now, Greg, let's talk about our favorite moments from this movie. Favorite lines, when we just rewatched this together and Greg was quoting things, he was quoting things before they were even said. So, we can go through the movie however, but tell me some of your, why do you love this movie? First of all, I love how sort of unique it is and approach, right? At the beginning, we get to the church really quickly, rarely in movies, especially now you'll get, you know, 45 minutes of them, you know, doing a bunch of the different things. And before you get to that actual place where the thing happens, you know? It's like, so we get to the church within 16 minutes. Oh, you were counting? I was counting. Okay. So we, it's fast, right? And I like that part. I just think that everybody in the movie, you can kind of see their energy. They all have their own aura around them. And especially when Whoopi and Maggie are meeting for the first time and they're sort of walking down this hallway or whatever, you can just see them banging into each other like they're, they're two energies colliding, right? You can just see their two energies colliding and they're two like monsters of, you know, in terms of acting. And they just, it just all came together really well. Real quick about Maggie Smith, one critic I saw, because you know, this movie is very split with critics, which I thought was surprising and had a couple of great reviews, a couple of middle and definitely a few not good reviews. But one critic did say Maggie Smith was so good, it really feels like she's not even acting and it's true. You really feel like, like when I was a kid, I was like, oh, that's a real none. Right. Like that's just, they just found a really good none. Exactly. You know what I mean? And she's so opposite of Dolores, who is loud and very emotional and, right? And Mother Superior is very just calm, even when she's angry, right? She just, she barely moves. Yeah. So good. And another thing is not only was I able to recite lines, I was able to recite, like when the camera cuts, there's a certain point. Yeah. I watched it so many times. How many times do you think you've seen it? Over a hundred times. Really? Over a hundred times, yeah. And probably like 10 or 15 times as an adult. But it's funny, we've never seen it together. I've watched it on TV here and there, when it's been on, when you haven't been around. Wow. I guess so. Because it's been a long time since I've rewatched this. So wow. Okay. You've seen it that, you are a super fan. A lot of times. Yes. Okay. I love this movie. Like there's a scene when she's, when whoopee is, or I should say Dolores, or Sister Mary Clarence. Sister Mary Clarence is leading the choir for the very first time. And you know, they start off and they do a very solemn version of the song that they're supposed to be singing. And then it switches, right? And we get kind of funky with it. And then it's about, and then we get a shot of Alma playing the piano. And that goes on for about two seconds. And then right as she shifts key, we do a cut to the exterior of the church. Yes. And then we go around being like, whoa, what's going on? What's happening inside that church? Right? And then we come, we come back and you and Greg knew, he was like, now we go outside. And I'm like, what? He's like exterior shot. And I didn't know what he was saying. And then we really go outside and the cool like teens who I remember them. It's so funny. I remember them so well. I don't know if maybe they're in the sequel, but I remember that group of teen girls. Yes. Right? Yeah. And they're like, what? What? And I guess because we do spend a lot of time with them. We're in a jean jacket and she has on like a black hat with like a little, like, it seems like they had like a little feather in it or something or like a little daisy. And they come in. Right. They come in. Yeah. And that's when things shift. That's when it's like, oh, we need sister, then we see the guy who's in the green robe. The one who's like, oh, yes, the lead priest or whatever. He like does like the coming children motion. He does that. And they're like, yeah. You know, yeah. Totally. I think that's, is that the Ave Regina, Regina, Regina, I think it's Ave Regina. Let me see. Yes. Yes. I have to be confused with Ave Maria. I know not Ave Maria, but I guess it wasn't on the soundtrack, but a lot of these songs that they did were on the soundtrack. Right. Which is so fun. But yeah. Yeah. That's a great song. And of course Maggie Smith is serious. Right. Right. You know, rock and roll. Well, well, do you want to hear some of my favorite lines? Yeah. My favorite lines, which I quote just in the middle of nothingness is like that these are like this like the found some of the foundations of my life, right, is at the very beginning her, they're called the raw nets. So one of the raw nets in her lounge act in Reno, she says, it's purple mink Dolores. And she and what he says, mink from his dead white closet. And I just used to think that was the funniest thing. Yeah. Thing. So, you know, I often say it's mink Dolores. But you know, real quick, how gross mink. Yeah. Like, ooh, that part did not age well. But then that was very much at the time because I remember my mom had like a fur coat. But did you see then the coat that Dolores puts on is another is a fur coat that has like raccoon tails like hanging off of his shoulder. And another quick thing real quick, since we're talking about her look in the beginning, it was the first time I had seen a boob tattoo. And I think that's whoopies real boob tattoo if I'm correct. And as a kid, I was like, well, that's like, I thought that's got to be a birthmark. You don't get a tattoo on like such a soft private spot. Wow. That was really eye opening for me. Yes. And then, you know, they're sitting around and they're doing arts and crafts, I think. And one of them says to her, Sister Mary Clarence, when did you get the call? Meaning the call to become a nun, the call from Jesus, basically. And she says the call. And then she goes, oh, the call, the call, the call. Yes. Like, man. That, you say a lot. I used to, when I was little, I used to say it all the time, even though I had no idea what it meant. And you know, the phone would ring and I'd go, the call, the call, the call. So you, so as a kid, you just really loved her reaction. Right. And later you realized the actual meaning and how that's even funny or something. Okay. Right. Yep. There's got to be something around here that I can do that's not going to chip my nails or annoy anybody. You won't join the choir. The choir? Or terrible. This is going to be hell. Tell me about it. There's a scene where, where Whoopie and Maggie Smith are, are going at it after her first performance. Yes. And she says, she says, yeah, I'm talking about getting some butts in the seat. And I always just thought that was funny. And when I was little, I used to envision it as like naked butts in the seat. I would always have that visual of like bare bottoms touching like the church pews. You're a pioneer. She ain't no nun. You have corrupted the entire choir. I was thinking more like Vegas, you know, get some butts in the seats. Anyway, but you know, I lit, I, you know, think about that scene quite a lot because there's a lot that, that scene is a microcosm of life. There's always going to be mother superior who's trying to tamp down. Who's coming from a place of no. Right. Who's trying to tamp down your new ideas. Who's trying to, you know, like that is, that is life. Yes. Absolutely. In that scene. The rejection of like the new. Right. Exactly. But, but also the, the people being scared of something that has been proven to be a success. Yes. Scared of success. We can't, we, you know, we can't do that. People want that too much. You know what I mean? We're giving in to what people want, you know. Yeah. It's like, And she's so upset that she like, then is quitting. Right. The convent. Right. Exactly. She's like, I'm not needed here. I'm, I'm obviously like old news. It's like, whoa. You know, Right. She's, she's definitely a little passive aggressive. Right. But yeah, you literally have young people coming into the church, something, this convent, this church hasn't had in a long time. Right. Yeah. And then the last one that I wrote down was, was when she's leading, she's backstage or whatever in the rehearsal room and she's leading the choir. She's teaching them for the first time and she's getting the, Oh yeah. The Sopranos and the Altos in the right spot and everything. Yep. And she, she asked Alma to play the key of the, what this, to play the keys of what this song is in. And she goes, Alma. And then it's silent. And she goes, Alma. And then she stomps, stomps, stomps. She goes, check your batteries. And then Alma. Alma. Like, so, and when I was younger. And give such a sweet smile. That actress, her smile. Right. So yeah. When I was younger, I thought the batteries meant that she was kind of like, Oh. Like, oh. Jokingly that she had a battery in her that she needed to. Right. Which is also funny. I never realized that she had like a hearing device. That dangles. Yeah. That like dangles. Like give out to people who need it at the playhouse, like a dangling. Right. Hearing aid. Yeah. Right. Totally. Yeah. Alma's great. And I used to say that. You love check, check your batteries. Yeah. And when I, you know, when I was younger, like a teenager and I'd scream from my room. And you know how big my mom's house used to be. You scream from my room all the way downstairs. And my mom wouldn't respond. I'd go, Alma, check your batteries. And anyway, that's how. Now did your mom love this movie as much as you did? I don't know. I don't remember. I'd love to know. Like when you quoted that, was she, did she laugh or was she just like. I think she knew. I don't know. What do you think you loved so much about this? Like, I don't know. I was like, I was drawn to like weird certain sound bites of movies. Oh yeah. Like Mighty Ducks. I think D2 Mighty Ducks. There's a part where the announcer just randomly goes, Woo Ken Woo. Because the character's name is Ken Woo. And the announcer goes, Woo Ken Woo. Because he did some, he got a goal or whatever. And I used to say Woo Ken Woo. Yeah. Oh yeah. There's certain lines that just, they either are spoken in a way that just gets in your brain or yeah, yeah. And the other lines that you loved? No. I mean, there are tons of lines. And I wrote down, you know, last time when we just watched it is that it is almost like a greatest hits of scenes. And so I wonder if it was supposed to be longer. And, and, or I could very easily see that there were other story lines that got cut entirely. Oh, that's interesting. I could, I could see Kathy and Jimmy like we learned more about her backstory. Yeah, you know, because she stands out so much, but we really don't know much about her. She's not like the, the quieter Mary Robert who we, we get to know and we know that she's a young nun, a novice nun. That's why she wears a different habit. Right. Did you know that? I didn't know that. Oh yeah. Cause everyone has the normal boxy one, but she has just a little. I thought it was a fashion. No. And the other thing I wrote down was that Kathy and Jimmy is just so good. Yeah. And she still smiles. Yeah. Is that you get her character in one second. Oh my God. At that, at that iconic long table when Maggie Smith introduces sister Mary Clarence and they're all there, the way Kathy and Jimmy smiles at the camera. Right. It's that same smile that you know when someone's like, okay, like you're a little overwhelming. Exactly. Right. You know exactly her character in one second. That's how good she is. Yeah. And it's such a simple move that you know she put a lot of thought into exactly how that character should meet that, should meet whoopies character for the first time. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. She's so overpowering everyone in the choir. Right. And it's funny because she's too loud. Mary Robert is too quiet. So it's funny to see whoopie be annoyed by Mary Patrick's voice like, oh, tone it down. But then I remember so well as a kid it was like quite a shock to me when she when whoopie puts her hand on the stomach on the smaller nun's stomach and her voice does change. I was like, whoa, you know, like that's a very you really feel like in that scene when she's in the choir and Mary Lazarus was the choir teacher or choir leader, I should say. But you really feel like you're there. Right. I used to do that. What? I used to do that in the shower. I'd put on the radio and like a song would come on and I would wait for a good part and I put my hand on my stomach and like push in and I go, oh, yeah. And because also, you know what it is, all the other nuns really like physically react. Right. And it's like, whoa, they're shocked. Yeah. Can we talk quickly about Lieutenant Eddie, Bill Nunn, who also passed away? That's very sad. I love him so much in this movie. And I remember when we were just rewatching, you also said, God, like, I feel like you said like, he's so great. Right. He has such a great smile, such a warmth. Right. It's also nice that he's because you know, this movie is very white, which is also funny that Bette Midler was going to be in it because I feel like, yes, that would have worked great, but like it works so great to have a black, a person of another race to just really drive home the point that she is different from all these women. You know what I mean? So it's nice that she has an ally in the Lieutenant who also is a person of color, but did you get a vibe at all? Like I kind of wish there was a little bit of a romance. Yeah. No romance vibe. You didn't get that? I kind of got that towards the end. You know, you're glad that didn't happen? I'm glad that didn't happen. Okay. Yeah. I guess that would have been cheesy. I just, I don't know, part of me on this latest rewatch, I was like, oh yeah, they're kind of like flirting there towards the end. I kind of want them to get together since she's with a bad guy. Like she's been dating a bad guy. Right. So it's like, I kind of want her to find a good guy. But yeah, the movies, you know, which, which, yeah, I guess I do respect. It's not really about her love life. It's about finding female friends. It's about sharing your talent and finding your, your love of music. Yeah. And like that sort of thing. And finding your place. Yep. Totally. Um, it's funny. I completely forgot the ending. I completely forgot the ending. I love the ending in the casino with all the nuns, which, Oh, I thought you were talking about the Pope. Well, the Pope, I kind of forgot, but I, I mean, I love, I love that. Yeah. He's there and it gives him a standing ovation. Wow. You know, um, and the theater, the theater, the church is packed. Right. Right. Although it does look like they were only gone for a couple days or maybe a night. Right. Cause well, let's backtrack. I completely forgot they go to Reno in a helicopter. Right. All these nuns, there's, I believe like 15 of them in a six person. Yeah. And you know, that's the one thing where I could see where critics are like, huh? It's the one thing in this movie that is very funny. It's perfect that I love it. I think it's funny, but it's like, oh, okay. Now we're getting into fantasy. It's like a clown car. That's a little, which again, works for me. I love it. I'm into it, but I could see where some people are like, wait, this was for the most part a pretty realistic comedy, but now we're stuffing all these old nuns in a small helicopter to go to Reno. But I completely forgot they, they're pressuring the helicopter. The music is so good at that moment. Oh yeah. It's so jazzy. It's like almost like a video game. And then it slows down at certain points. Oh yeah. Cause it's tense. That's why my only critique at the beginning with the Harvey Keitel stuff. I know you were saying in a movie today, we'd have 45 minutes. Yes. But sometimes, sometimes I feel like some movies don't breathe. It's like, all right, give me, I do wish we had a few more minutes in the beginning where whoopee's character was truly afraid of her boyfriend. You know what I mean? Like maybe even in the first scene where he's like getting dressed and they're looking at each other in the mirror and stuff, where maybe he like did something that kind of scares her, just to start playing the seed that like, yeah, she actually doesn't even really love him, but you know, he's got his good days, bad, you know what I mean? But the thing is, is that that's the whole thing though, is that she's not scared of him. Yeah. Until the shooting. Because when she first gets to the church, she says to, when the cop brings her, the lieutenant brings her to the church for the first time, she says, forget this, I'm going to go work this out with Eddie. Eddie? Vince. Vince. Yeah. Eddie's the cop. Eddie's the cop. Okay. She says, forget this, I'm going to go work this out with Vince. So she's not scared of him. Yeah. Like that's the whole thing. She doesn't want to be here. Right. She doesn't want to be there. If she was scared of him, then yeah, she would want to be there. And she's very put off that they don't have sex. Because you don't want to retract that statement? Oh, okay. You don't wish that she was scared. Well, um, I don't know. You don't wish. It feels a little, a little too fast when she sees this shooting, which that's good. And I remember as a kid, I was like, oh my God, that's terrifying. She just saw a shooting and I could feel that like, then his goons are like, you know, they're all looking at her. I just wish it was a little more tense. Right. In Disney movie, I do think they glossed over the truly tense moment there where it would have been great just to like have a little back and forth with the camera of her looking at him and her faking it and then running. It's a little fast for me. Was it Disney at the time or wasn't it? Yeah. Touchstone pictures was under Disney. Okay. Yeah. It was their like, it was their Hulu. It was their adult. Right. But back then I don't think anybody knew that. Yeah. Oh yeah. I didn't know. Touchstone the year later was Nightmare Before Christmas, which was Touchstone, which many people didn't realize that was Disney because Disney wanted to release it, but was so like kind of like scared of Nightmare Before Christmas that they're like, well, that's our Touchstone label. Right. You know, so same with Sister Act. It's like, yeah, this is a ultimately a family movie, but there's some adult stuff. There's sex talk, right? Because I do think it's funny Dolores is very put off. I feel like a few times in the movie, she is most put off by their chastity where Maggie Smith says they take a vow of this about this about abstinence. I'm out of here. Right. You know, so I guess her and Vince really, you know, got it on a lot, which makes sense. Well, even though they were older, you know, I mean, she was wearing like a little nightie. Oh yeah. Uh-huh. It's almost like where we meet Vince kind of like, well, maybe I'm wrong. Yeah. I got the impression that was post-coital. Post-coital. It could be or could, yeah, because he is getting dressed. So yeah, I think you're right. I think they did it after her show, which I love that show. I love the music. I love that she, these guys and Reno, the guys, the few guys that are sitting close to them, you know, at the slots, she's like, you don't give a shit. Like during the song, that is so funny. You don't give a shit that she says, let's get the hell out of here. This place. You're going to go straight to hell. We could cut a demo. What else do you want to talk about before we wrap it up? Race. Yeah. So I realized, and I kind of always knew, but on this most recent rewatch, I really realized that race really plays no role in the movie. No stated role that another character has pointed to or anything. The only time race is ever brought up is when, again, Whoopee is there with the lieutenant. He first gets to the church and she says, what am I going to do here? There's nothing here for me. It's a bunch of white women walking around in penguin costumes. Right. That's the only reference to race. So at all. I wonder if maybe there, well, of course there's always race operating in the background. Right? It always, there has to be when you have one black character and the rest are white. Right. But it never is, it's almost like she has command over them because she's black. Like she has them as an audience all the time. Like she as the, she's almost like the superhero or something because they all have never probably experienced somebody like her. Yeah. Not just somebody who's black, but somebody who's outspoken, somebody who's. Oh, definitely. Yeah. Loud and boisterous, but. Yeah. You know, that's funny. They don't really view her as like, ooh, a black woman. No. No. I think because, and I had read Fun Fact about the street, this really was, it's interesting this film truly was shot in San Francisco and Reno, which is very rare. Very rare. To actually shoot not only in the real locations that you're talking about, but in two different locations, which I was telling Greg when we were watching this movie, rewatching it the other night, I actually looked it up because I honestly, I didn't even know Reno is north of San Francisco, northeast, about three or four hours. So, you know, that's kind of rare to bring everyone to these two real locations, but the street where the church really was, they, they dressed all that to look a little, a little dumpier, a little, you know, rougher than it really was. Economically distressed. Yeah. Yeah. So, I thought, when I was a kid, and I think Sister Act is one of those movies that definitely shaped my world view, you know, I was like six or whatever and watched it a million times, I think one of the reasons why I had my views on race are the way they are, is because of movies like Sister Act, where, you know, especially growing up in the woods of Maine, you had, before we got satellite TV, you didn't see any black people anywhere outside, first of all, in the real world. The first black person that I saw in the real world, I was, it wasn't until I was about 13 years old. That late? Mm-hmm. Oh my God, you're like an Amish person. Oh, wow. I mean, growing up, I grew up in the, very different from me. Sticks. Yeah. You grew up in the sticks, but up until I was probably 13 years old, all of my interactions or all of my representations of race was in film and TV. Yeah. And especially Sister Act, because I watched it so many times, and you have a really powerful lead black woman, or a black woman as the lead. Mm-hmm. I just thought that that was the way the world was. Like, that race wasn't a thing. Mm-hmm. That it wasn't like there was no calm and strong. No need to really talk about it. Just, yeah. No, but that, it wasn't even a concept that there are just people in the world and they're all different colors. Mm-hmm. And it doesn't mean anything. Yeah, it's interesting. And, like, I just wonder, would it have been a better movie if there was a little bit more of a race discussion? No, I don't know about, do you like that? I don't know about better or, or worse or, or anything like that. Yeah. I just think it's interesting that there'd be no way this movie would be made today. Oh. Without, without referencing it, it would almost be like a, not a, what's the right word? Not a sin, but a faux pas. Oh yeah, to not address it. Or just really cringey to be like, okay, are we not going to acknowledge that she's the only black person in the room, and how does she probably, how does that probably make her feel? Yeah, like I just wonder, you know, since we were talking about there were different writers that turned on the script. This was originally meant for Bette Midler, who apparently was like, sort of involved in the script, according to different sites. She recommended that the writer go to a real convent, you know, so she was kind of involved a little bit before saying no to the role. So it was meant for a white woman. It switches to a black woman. So I just wonder, what were the conversations like? Did whoopee say like, yeah, we don't really need to talk about, what's the big deal? Or was, did Disney say like, yeah, let's not, like I just wonder, did everyone truly not really kind of want to talk about race? It's obvious, you know. It's interesting to think about. Yeah, it is just interesting, but I was just saying, you know, from my perspective as a child, because they didn't, it wasn't mentioned. It wasn't a thing that was of any part of the story or anything, that, yeah, it just, that totally shaped my opinion, like my worldview that like, there was no, there was no racism. There was no difference. Right. Yeah. And so, you know, it's a little bit of a fantasy that way. My brothers didn't do anything. It's better than ice cream. It's better than springtime. Better than sex. No, I've heard. Thanks so much for watching. Next time, there's going to be a new movie that we'll talk about, so stay tuned and please follow release date rewind on Instagram for updates. Bye.