Suitable for Framing Is Suitable for Columbo Fans

I've been enjoying several Columbo mysteries lately, courtesy of a friend who bought me a DVD collection. Last night, I watched Suitable for Framing. As is often the case, this title has a double meaning; the frumpy detective's prime suspect is an art critic whose job requires him to determine which paintings are "suitable for framing," but the word "frame" also comes into play as he tries to pin his uncle's murder on his uncle's ex-wife.

The critic in question is Dale Kingston (Ross Martin), who stands to inherit quite a tidy sum. Not that it really seems he needs the extra cash; the man lives extravagantly off of a combination of his uncle's generosity and his own high-paying work. As is generally the case, Columbo targets him right away, pestering him with seemingly irrelevant questions and seeming to constantly lose track of what he is doing. Dale isn't as easily taken in by this act as some are; he grows irritable with Columbo pretty early on, especially when he lets Dale know in a round-about way that he intends to search his home.

Columbo is perfectly entertaining here, using all his old tricks in order to gradually build up enough evidence to support his growing theory. I found Dale rather lacking as a main character, though. There was nothing particularly distinctive in his look or manner aside from an unpalatable mixture of arrogance and aggression, and he didn't rivet me to the screen. His accomplice, an art student named Tracy O'Connor (Rosanna Huffman), is similarly nondescript and doesn't really come into the story much, and her whole role is reminiscent of the pretty young accomplice in the pilot Columbo film. The whole art angle adds interest; it seems Columbo's suspects are often experts in some particular area, so the audience gets a nice peek into that world.

The most interesting characters' appearances are limited to one scene each. Vic Tayback pops up as Sam Franklin, a gruff painter who Columbo interviews, and Mary Wickes is entertaining as Tracy's chatterbox landlady, who seems poised to out-annoy the detective. I wish she'd gotten more screen time because she and Falk play beautifully off each other. Also noteworthy is Kim Hunter as Aunt Edna, a kindly, philanthropic woman who Dale frames rather sloppily, and Don Ameche as the attorney who reveals that the murder victim left his extensive art collection to her.

Suitable for Framing is an enjoyable mystery; it just lacks a bit of the punch of some other Columbo outings. Definitely worth watching as part of a set, but if you're looking for episodes to purchase individually, this wouldn't be at the top of my list.

Whoopi Robes Up Again for a More than Satisfactory Sequel

Shortly before I went into sixth grade, my mom and I went school shopping. We made a day of it, with lunch at Chuck E. Cheese’s and then a movie. As I recall, our intention was to see Three Ninjas, but the showing was sold out, so we examined our options, and I suggested Sister Act. Mom was dubious; she didn’t know much about it, and she suspected I might find it boring. But we gave it a shot, and rarely have I found a movie so engaging and entertaining. Just a year later, a sequel arrived. There’s always something lost with a sequel; much of the power of surprise is gone. You basically know what to expect at this point. A first film may sweep you away, but a sequel rarely will. Sister Act 2 failed to enthrall me the way the first did, but as sequels go, it was incredibly well done in spite of the similarities in plot to its predecessor.

The beginning of this movie finds Delores van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) enjoying greater success as a lounge singer than ever before, thanks to her unlikely star-making stint as choir director for a fleet of cloistered nuns. Her habited buddies, Sisters Mary Robert (Wendy Makkena), Patrick (Kathy Najimy) and Lazarus (Mary Wickes), corner her after one of her shows and entreat her to return with them to their current residence, a parish in charge of St. Francis Academy, a school catering to inner city students. A now gentler Mother Superior (Maggie Smith) greets her upon her arrival and begs her to join the teaching staff as a music instructor, to which Delores reluctantly agrees. Once again she must go in cognito in order to deceive the school administrators, but this task isn’t so difficult now that most of her friends know who and what she really is.

The basic plotline is very similar to the first, though there’s far less at stake for Delores this time around, and the tensions between her and school principal Father Maurice (Barnard Hughes) and superintendent Mr. Crisp (James Cogburn) are nothing compared to the frosty relationship she enjoyed with Mother Superior in the first film. Delores has changed, so her motivations are different in this film, and her character doesn’t have much room to evolve. But once again she finds herself in a position to save a struggling organization by taking a ragtag group and turning them into a world-class choir.

Personally, I identify more with nuns than rowdy teens, so I preferred when the focus was on the Sisters. Delores had a difficult task in whipping them into shape, but they were ready and willing to participate. The complications arose much more from Mother Superior’s disapproval than the nuns themselves. Here, Delores’ first job is to command her students’ respect, and it’s not easy. Once she does, though, she still has her work cut out for her in teaching them how to work together and believe in themselves. Several students stand out: “Amahl,” (Ryan Toby) who is extremely passionate about his African heritage and who overcomes his timidity with an exhilarating solo much as Sister Mary Robert did in the first film; “Sketch,” (Ron Johnson) a gentle soul who is a talented artist but who always sleeps through class due to long hours working after school; and “Frankie,” (Devin Kamin) a wannabe rapper with his own theme song. Most prominent, however, is Rita (Lauryn Hill), who possesses an extraordinary voice but has a crummy attitude fostered by her mother (Sheryl Lee Ralph), who refuses to foster her daughter’s dreams of singing professionally. Her mother comes across as a bit too severe here, ordering her to quit the choir because “singing does not put food on the table;” after all, it doesn’t take food off the table, either. In fact, Rita seems to have been completely uninterested in school up to this point, but the choir provides her with motivation. I would think a mother would be more supportive of her daughter’s talent, but I guess she’s just seen how hard it is to bring such dreams to fruition and doesn’t want Rita getting hurt.

When Father Maurice announces that the school will be closing at the end of the year, the students rally under the nuns’ enthusiastic suggestion that they enter the singing contest that this academy has won in years past. Their efforts are complicated by Father Maurice’s caution and near-sabotage by dour Mr. Crisp, who stands to gain quite a bit from the destruction of the school. The last-minute efforts to thwart those plans are an amusing side-plot involving the monks who also teach at the school. They don’t have quite as much to do as the nuns, but these men add a lot to the film. I especially like curmudgeonly Latin teacher Brother Thomas (Brad Sullivan), Mary Lazarus’ counterpart, and gentle, gregarious math teacher Brother Ignatius (Michael Jeter), who combines the best qualities of Mary Patrick and Mary Robert.

The ending is fairly predictable, but the kids’ grand musical number is impressive nonetheless. I can’t help but recall The Sound of Music while watching the musical competition, and I’m happy to embrace any film that makes me think of that classic, which may qualify as my all-time favorite. Of course, it also reminds me of Sister Act. In the end, this sequel is not quite as funny, creative, or surprising as that was, but it comes awfully close.