The story begins in 1968. Deloris Wilson is a girl attending Catholic school. A nun asks her the names of the apostles. But instead, she gives the names of the Beatles. The nun is disappointed in her.

Many years have passed. It is now the present day (as of 1992). Deloris (whose stage last name is now Van Cartier) is performing at a night club in Nevada. The club is owned by her gangster boyfriend, Vince LaRocca. He is also married to another woman.

Vince tries to gift Deloris a garment with his ex-wife’s name on it. Deloris, however, tries so hard to be polite and not “refuse” it. But Vince notices that.

After he executes some guy, he goes after Deloris and tries to kill her. Scared, Deloris goes to the police for help.

However, Police lieutenant Eddie Souther decides that she needs witness protection. He sends her to a struggling convent of Saint Katherine’s Parish, which is in a not-so-great neighborhood in San Francisco.

Deloris meets the head-nun, Reverand Mother, who does not look forward to having her there. Deloris doesn’t like the rules or the experience she will have to have. But both Souther and Monsignor O’Hara, the parish priest, beg them to go along with it. They even add a deal that the cops will pay the convent a decent amount of money.

Deloris continues to dislike the guidelines of being a nun. For example, her room has only the basic necessities, such as a bed and lamp. Reverand Mother tells her that nuns must live with only what’s needed. She also “changes” Deloris’s name, which is “Sister Mary Clarence.”

At some point, Deloris meets the other nuns. And because she hates the rules, she doesn’t get along with Reverand Mother.

During a meal (presumably lunch), Deloris complains about the food that is being served. Reverand Mother demands silence for the rest of the meal and day.

Regardless of her negative experience so far, Deloris does make friends with some of the other nuns. They include the bubbly Sister Mary Patrick, an elderly Sister Mary Lazarus, and a shy young woman, Mary Robert (who gets to have her bangs exposed for some reason).

At a Sunday Mass, the choir of nuns performs poorly. Deloris decides that she needs a break from the convent life. So, she sneaks out to the bar across the street. But Mary Patrick and Mary Robert follow her there.

Reverand Mother catches them and almost dismisses Deloris from the convent. But instead, she has her lead the chorus of nuns.

Deloris uses her own techniques on teaching them, likely from her career as a nightclub singer.

Sometime later, there is another mass happening. The nun choir starts off with a traditional hymn of “Hail Holy Queen.” Then it switches it an upbeat version with a mix of gospel and rock and roll.

Unfortunately, Reverand Mother gets very angry about this. However, Monsignor O’Hara really loved their performance. It has even attracted a lot of new people.

Monsignor O’Hara lets the nuns clean up the church and help around the town. Not long after, the nuns’ singing of unorthodox upbeat songs attracts the media. This really excites Monsignor O’Hara.

Meanwhile, though, Vince is still interested in finding Deloris. Souther also saw her on TV and gives her a hard time about almost being exposed on national television. But she promises to keep a lower profile.

Souther attends a mass and the choir, once again, performs an upbeat song. They do a rendition of “My Guy,” and make it “My God.”

Monsignor O’Hara announces that the pope will be coming to see the nuns sing. Reverand Mother holds a vote on whether they should stick with traditional hymns or the upbeat versions. The majority choose the latter.

Then Deloris finds out that Vince’s trial is coming up, which means she’ll have to leave the convent. She informs that to Reverand Mother. But Reverand Mother is also resigning. And she says if they both quit, it’s a problem.

At some point, she also reveals Deloris’s real identity and that she really isn’t a nun. She was only hiding her to keep her safe.

But stakes with Vince trying to hurt Deloris are rising. What will happen next?

I will admit that this movie did not engage me as much as I hoped. Some parts were confusing, as well.

I also thought that this movie was going to be a musical, since that was what I read online. But it wasn’t really one. It was more of a comedy.

That being said, I did laugh occasionally. And I do see strengths in this film.

As usual, the character development was strong. I admire how each character had a distinct personality with good and bad traits. That makes all of them memorable.

Deloris was likable. I loved how she changed the way the nun’s chorus performed, shifting from slow hymns to fast, upbeat versions. Those were definitely fun to watch. She was also rebellious at times.

Mother Reverand was a gray character. She started out unfair but changed a bit. I am fond of how Maggie Smith portrayed her. She did a good job.

I also liked Sisters Mary Patrick and Mary Robert. And I disliked Vince.

The pacing was sometimes a bit slow, however. But I think the songs played or sung quickened it up whenever possible.

Despite the confusion, I think the premise was still creative. And the plot was well-thought out.

Like with any good movie, this one had a lot of twists and turns. Another thing to note is that even though the film is rated PG, it isn’t suitable for young children. There is some foul language (but no uses of the F-word), drug references, guns, and tobacco usage. It is more like a PG-13 rated movie.

Overall, I thought Sister Act was decent. The flaws were almost as strong as the perks.

I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars.