‘Sister Act 2’ Based On Too Familiar Plot
Those who enjoyed Whoopi Goldberg’s 1992 “Sister Act” were delighted by the prospect of the 1993 sequel, “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” which airs on FOX at 8.
But as is often the case, the sequel didn’t stand up to the original. The first film was a fresh and lively romp starring Goldberg as Deloris, a club singer on the run from the mob who hides out in a poor, inner-city convent.
Masquerading as a nun, she becomes choir director, winning the hearts of a stern Mother Superior (Maggie Smith) and fellow nuns (including Kathy Najimy and Mary Wickes). With their help, she escapes the mobster (Harvey Keitel) who wants her rubbed out. The music was fantastic.
In “Sister Act 2,” Deloris is headlining in Vegas when Sisters Mary Patrick and Mary Lazarus (Najimy and Wickes) appear with a frantic call for help.
A hardheaded priest (Barnard Hughes) and his shiftless adviser (James Coburn) are out to shut down the convent. The only hope is for Deloris to return, reorganize her choir and bring such glory to the convent that closing it would be a public embarrassment.
It all works, if you haven’t seen too many movies based on the same cliches. Deloris takes the choir to a state competition where the kids from a snobby private school are odds-on favorites. Can you guess the outcome?
The Motown/gospel music still energizes the story, but it’s all so predictable and familiar that you lose interest between the numbers.
Too bad. With a better script, there might have been a “Sister Act III.”
Highlights
“Olympics,” CBS at 8: Set for tonight: Alpine skiing (women’s slalom); speedskating (women’s 1000m); short-track speedskating (women’s 500m, men’s 5000m relay); Nordic combined (team ski jumping, normal hill). Late-night coverage at 12:35 a.m. features a semifinal game in men’s hockey.
“Prey,” ABC at 8: The saga continues as Attwood (Larry Drake) brings the mysterious pillar from the secret city back to the United States for further testing. Vanessa Bell Calloway guest-stars.
“Friends,” NBC at 8: In the conclusion of a two-part repeat, Monica and Rachel (Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston) visit a hospital emergency room, where they meet two handsome and single doctors (George Clooney and Noah Wyle from NBC’s “ER”). Trouble is, the women have switched identities to scam an insurance company.
“Motown 40: The Music Is Forever,” ABC at 9: More great music fills the conclusion of the four-hour-long special. Diana Ross hosts this history of one of the most influential powers in American music. Best handled here is the link between Motown pioneers and some of today’s musical, political and cultural icons.
“ER,” NBC at 10: In a repeat from 1996 (first-run episodes return after the Olympics), Lewis and Greene (Sherry Stringfield, Anthony Edwards) helicopter to the scene of a rural accident. Back at the hospital, Ross (George Clooney) and Benton (Eriq La Salle) perform emergency surgeries with mixed results. Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) copes with a patient’s demand to be cryogenically preserved after death.
Cable Calls
“Bravo Profiles: David Bowie,” BRV at 7: The fiftysomething rocker is profiled from his Ziggy Stardust days to his latest incarnation. The hour is filled with performance footage and an interview that lets you decide if Bowie is a musical genius or simply the ultimate pop chameleon.
“The New Explorers,” A&E at 6 and 9 p.m.: Host Bill Kurtis visits the Cincinnati Zoo, where cuttingedge reproduction methods are being used to help save endangered species. Also, Kurtis talks with researcher Mary Claire King, who is searching for the gene that causes deafness.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: Actress Gina Gershon and comedian Kathleen Madigan.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 12:35: Former GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole and singer Marilyn Manson.
“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:05 a.m.: Wayne Knight, Christine Lahti, Don Cornelius and Rep. Bill Tauzin (R-La.).