Sister Act is a 1992 American musical crime comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (billed as Joseph Howard).

It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program.

It also features Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel.

The film spawned a franchise, which consists of the 1993 sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and a musical adaptation, which premiered in 2006.

[4][5] In 1968, Deloris Wilson is a young Catholic school student, who does not take her studies seriously and greatly embarrasses her nun teachers while showing an affinity for music.

Police lieutenant Eddie Souther places her in witness protection, and brings her to Saint Katherine's Parish, in a run-down neighborhood in San Francisco, for her to hide out in their struggling convent.

Both Deloris, and the disgruntled head nun of St. Katherine's, Reverend Mother, object to this arrangement, but Lt. Souther, and Monsignor O'Hara, the parish priest, convince them to go along with it, with the added deal that the police will pay the failing convent a good sum of money.

At the next Sunday Mass, Deloris leads the much-improved choir in a traditional hymn of "Hail Holy Queen", then shifts into a combined gospel and rock and roll interpretation.

Although Reverend Mother is infuriated, Monsignor O'Hara congratulates the choir for their unorthodox performance as new people were attracted to the service.

O'Hara informs the convent that Pope John Paul II, having heard of the choir's success, will visit the church.

Souther discovers a corrupt detective in his own department who has given Deloris's location to Vince and rushes to San Francisco to warn her.

Returning to San Francisco, the choir, led by Deloris, sing "I Will Follow Him" to a packed audience in a refurbished Saint Katherine's, receiving a standing ovation from all, including Reverend Mother, the Pope, Monsignor O'Hara, and Lt. Souther.

[6] Screenwriter Paul Rudnick pitched Sister Act to producer Scott Rudin in 1987, with Bette Midler in mind for the lead role.

As production commenced, the script was rewritten by a half dozen screenwriters, including Carrie Fisher, Robert Harling, and Nancy Meyers.

[8] With the movie no longer resembling his original script, Rudnick asked to be credited with a pseudonym in the film, deciding on Joseph Howard.

The film received a generally positive reception from critics, holding a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 reviews.

The site's consensus states: "Looking for a sweet musical comedy about a witness to a crime hiding out from killers in a convent?

Douglas and Wilson argued that, in 1985, they had developed a screenplay for the book, which had been submitted to Disney, Goldberg, and Midler three times during 1987 and 1988.

[33] The Region 1 DVD was released on November 6, 2001; however, the disc has no anamorphic enhancement, similar to early DVDs from Buena Vista Home Entertainment.