It seems that remaking movies is all the rage in Hollywood these days. Earlier this spring, Disney released a new, live-action "Cinderella," and they’re in the process of doing new versions of "Beauty and the Beast," "Dumbo" and "The Little Mermaid" as well. There was an "Annie" remake last year, and a new "Ghostbusters" with an all-female cast is set to release next year.
To be honest, I’m not super excited by any of this. To me, it seems that production companies are trying to capitalize off nostalgia in lieu of coming up with new ideas. (Side note: Am I too young to be this jaded?) However, there is one rumored remake I’m very interested in seeing, and that’s "Sister Act."
I recently re-watched the original ‘90s classic for the first time as an adult and a Global Sisters Reporter writer, and although it was still funny, I was kind of taken aback at how the sisters were portrayed. I mean, they’re either irrationally mean or naïve to the point of absurdity. I know many of our readers have long been concerned about the ways sisters are depicted by Hollywood, but this was my first time seeing it with enlightened eyes, and it was nuts. And because it’s just in my personality, I spent the whole movie scoffing at everything I thought was unrealistic, like when Maggie Smith as the Mother Superior turns in her resignation and asks to be transferred to a position at another convent. Hahaha . . . what?
But now Hollywood gets to try again, and I have so many questions about this new version. First, will Whoopi Goldberg or Maggie Smith make cameos? What will Deloris be running from this time? And, of course, will there be a more accurate depiction of sisters? I’m not going to go so far as to say that Hollywood is a bastion of political correctness, but we do live in a time where minorities are far from silent about the way they are portrayed in film, so surely there will be some manner of sister consultant on set. Right?
Either way, I’ll be keeping an eye on this.