Picks and Pans Review: Sister Mary Explains It All

UPDATED 05/28/2001 at 01:00 AM EDT Originally published 05/28/2001 at 01:00 AM EDT

Showtime (Sun., May 27, 8 p.m. ET)

Hang onto your rosary beads. Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You has finally made it from stage to screen—to the small screen, that is, and with a shortened title. More than 20 years after it was first produced Off-Broadway, Christopher Durang's black comedy retains much of its capacity to amuse and offend.

Four disillusioned thirtysome-things (Laura San Giacomo, Brian Benben, Jennifer Tilly and Wallace Langham) set out to show up their third-grade teacher, ultradogmatic Sister Mary Ignatius (Diane Keaton), at her annual Christmas lecture. The confrontation turns angry, then violent, and Durang hurls many a barb certain to raise the hackles of traditional Catholics. Keaton isn't intimidating enough, and it's not hard to tell you're watching a padded one-act play. But if you ever knew a Sister Mary type, you'll stay in your seat.

Bottom Line: Don't be marked absent

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