Whoopi Goldberg’s career has taken her from Broadway to the
big screen to 10 years on TV, chatting up a storm (and sometimes
sharing some not-very-good verging on quite bad opinions,
admittedly). While it’s difficult to do proper justice to a career
that spans all kinds of performance – from stand-up comedy and
theatre to film-acting and TV presenting – we’ve taken a look back
at some of Whoopi’s biggest film roles from the ’80s and ’90s, when
the movies were original; the stars were big; and people only paid
attention to one screen at a time....................
THE COLOR PURPLE (1985) Steven Spielberg probably wasn’t the
obvious choice to direct The Color Purple, the 1985 film adaptation
of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Before ‘85, Spielberg
was better known as a showman – a director of wild adventures,
tales from outer space, or shark movies. Likewise, Whoopi Goldberg
probably wasn’t the obvious choice to play the film’s central
character, Celie. Before ’85, Goldberg was best known for her
one- woman comedy show, where she shifted gears between comedy
and pathos, and left audiences cracking up and tearing up in equal
measure. But, as fate would have it, the two ‘Bergs were meant to be,
after Spielberg happened to catch Goldberg on stage. What Whoopi
had to achieve in her first major feature is pretty darn incredible: she
had to convey what it meant to be poor, black and a woman in the
rural American South, and how a meaningful and dignified life might
still be possible, despite the deep wounds of oppression. No pressure....................
HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK (1998) The title of this film
poses some intriguing questions: who is Stella? Where did her groove
go? How did she get it back? Do I myself possess a groove? Do I still
have it? The answers, dear reader, go something like this: 1. Stella
(played by Angela Bassett) is a 40-something financial analyst who
decides to go on a luxury vacation to Jamaica with her long-time
friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg). 2. Her groove is gone because
she is tired and divorced and beaten down by the pressures of work
and the routine of life. Being a human is hard. 3. She gets it back by
going on a glitzy, rich-person holiday where she meets the extremely
attractive and muscular Winston (Taye Diggs), who wants to pursue
consensual sexual activities with her. 4. No. 5. No. To be honest,
Whoopi is kind of peripheral to the whole thing, but I’ve still got to give
this a big thumbs up, mostly for the number of shirtless scenes....................
JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH (1986) Here’s the basic gist of Jumpin’
Jack Flash: the global balance of power and the fate of all human
adults, babies, and democracy-loving cats and dogs is in the
hands of a zany computer whiz named Terry Doolittle (aka Whoopi
Goldberg). In 1986, this scenario – one where an unlikely and
not-very-suitable person becomes responsible for safeguarding
the fate of free people everywhere – was a dippy, make-believecomedy. In 2018, this scenario is a terrible, real horror show
(yes, this is a Donald Trump joke, and yes, I know it’s not very
good, and yes, sorry, trigger warning: Donald Trump. Let’s
move on). In Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Terry is bored with her job in
international finance until she accidentally becomes embroiled
in some spicy spy adventuring, complete with secret codes, Diana
Ross costumes, truth serum and midnight meetings. While Terry
is new to the whole spycraft malarkey, she’s surprisingly good at
escaping from the KGB. SO IS TRUMP... allegedly....................
GHOST (1990) Oh boy, what doesn’t Ghost have going for it? Gritty,
grimy, crime-y New York! Shirtless Patrick Swayze! An extremely
sexy pottery wheel scene! The Righteous Brothers! A man who
can’t bring himself to say “I love you”, yet we’re meant to think
he’s romantic and nice, and not an emotionally clogged human
drainpipe! And let’s not forget about the spooky ghooosts, which
is where Whoopi comes in. In Ghost, she plays Oda Mae Brown,
a grifter whose current scam involves faking psychic powers. When
the ghost of murdered Sam Wheat walks (floats?) into her psychic
parlour, hoping, somehow, that Oda Mae really can communicate
with the dead, she’s as surprised as anyone to find out that yes... yes
she can. After bridging the distance between the living and the dead,
Oda Mae helps Sam solve his murder; lead his sad girlfriend to find
peace; and close some bank accounts.
...................SISTER ACT (1992) Think of the number of movies where you
leave the deep, dark cinema and walk into the blinking sun
with a newfound determination to become a NUN. I can think of
approximately zero, except for Sister Act, a movie that convinced
my nine-year-old self that a monastic life of poverty, chastity and
obedience would be extremely wonderful. My sudden enthusiasm
for the religious life all speaks to the lovely and sunbeam-y charm
ofSister Act, a movie about a community of nuns who find a sense
of purpose and togetherness through music. Of course, it’s not
just any old music – it’s a combination of R&B, pop and gospel
conducted by Deloris (Whoopi), a lounge singer who is forced to hide
in their convent after witnessing a mob murder. If this setup sounds
silly, have I got news for you: it is silly. Well spotted. But Sister Act
is also deeply loveable, so my advice is, just go with it.
...................CORRINA, CORRINA (1994) If you grew up in Australia any time
between 1998 and 2003, you have probably absorbed at least
21 per cent of Corrina, Corrina’s plot through TELEVISION
OSMOSIS, a thing I just invented. Corrina, Corrina always seemed to
be on TV: day, night, every channel, all the time. I really can’t explain
why. The plot might sound familiar: in 1950s Los Angeles, a sad
and recently widowed dad (Ray Liotta) and Molly, his daughter, have
their lives transformed by a wise and sympathetic housekeeper,
Corrina (Whoopi Goldberg), and a pet turtle. It’s well-known territory
for Whoopi, whose earthy funniness is frequently used to create
characters that are unconventional outsiders or fish out of water
(see also:Sister Act, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Ghost). What makes
Corrina, Corrina worth watching is its simple sweetness, especially
in scenes between Corrina and Molly, who is young and sad and
misses her mum. Niceness is an underrated quality in movies.
...................THE LION KING (1994) I’m not sure how Disney pitched
The Lion King to Whoopi Goldberg, but I imagine it went something
like this: “Hello, Whoopi, it’s Walt Disney speaking.” [pause] “No,
I’m not dead.” [pause, pause] Muffled: “I just live in a very secret
and cold place and you can’t tell anyone about this phone call.”
[silence] “Anyhow, I was wondering if you would please star in
my film where you will play a very bad hyena named Shenzi? It
will maybe take you a few days to record your dialogue, and there
will probably be many sequels, so you can make money for a long
time.” And look, while Whoopi only returned for one sequel, and
while **ALERT** this phone call didn’t actually happen, her role
inThe Lion King has made her central to the entire Lion King
universe. It was Shenzi who failed to kill Simba. Whoopi made
sure the movie didn’t just end at the 20-minute mark.whoopi goldberg
fan club
ROWENA GRANT-FROST LOOKS
BACK AT SOME OF THE ACTOR’S
BEST ON-SCREEN MOMENTS.silver screen