Movies aren't made to affect everyone who watch, though they try to hit at least 90% of their audiences. Any movie in the history of cinema has both those who sing its praises and those who condemn it as trash.
I enjoyed "Sister Mary Explains It All" because I recognize the difficulty in making a movie with limited props. Diane Keaton spent almost the entire movie under a spotlight on a stool in front of an "audience" with no other actors to rely on for guidance or tone until the very end. The tough love no-nonsense nun bad guy stereotype never fails at comedy in any genre (ie. "Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys").
Now, where it separates itself from all the other genres is when Laura San Giacomo et al walk in depicting the Nativity and how that all turns out. Yes, it villanizes the Catholic church, but that has become a plot device used more and more recently concerning the many controversies surrounding that particular institution. The movie tells a story of cause and effect through stereotypes.
When Giacomo drops her character's life story bomb on Diane Keaton's character, the movie shifts gears into a drama and the rest of the cast spill their life outcomes with equal bang. This is no light heart scene of reunion. And then, the film fades in typical stage play fashion after a long-awaited climax - an excellent way to end the movie without really ending to the characters.
I enjoyed "Sister Mary Explains It All" because I recognize the difficulty in making a movie with limited props. Diane Keaton spent almost the entire movie under a spotlight on a stool in front of an "audience" with no other actors to rely on for guidance or tone until the very end. The tough love no-nonsense nun bad guy stereotype never fails at comedy in any genre (ie. "Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys").
Now, where it separates itself from all the other genres is when Laura San Giacomo et al walk in depicting the Nativity and how that all turns out. Yes, it villanizes the Catholic church, but that has become a plot device used more and more recently concerning the many controversies surrounding that particular institution. The movie tells a story of cause and effect through stereotypes.
When Giacomo drops her character's life story bomb on Diane Keaton's character, the movie shifts gears into a drama and the rest of the cast spill their life outcomes with equal bang. This is no light heart scene of reunion. And then, the film fades in typical stage play fashion after a long-awaited climax - an excellent way to end the movie without really ending to the characters.