Line #27 Film/ChangeOfHabit


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/change_of_habit_1969.jpg]]
2
3	''Change of Habit'' is a 1969 film directed by William A. Graham, starring Music/ElvisPresley (in his last film as an actor) and Creator/MaryTylerMoore.
4
5	Three nuns, Sister Michelle (Moore), Sister Barbara (Jane Elliot), and Sister Irene (Barbara [=McNair=]), leave their convent and go undercover as laywomen in order to work as nurses for John Carpenter (Presley), an inner-city doctor.
6
7	The three work with all kinds of patients, from abused children to elderly heart attack patients. Meanwhile, Michelle and Carpenter (who doesn't know her true vocation) fall for each other, and Michelle is forced to decide whether she loves Carpenter enough to leave the convent for good.
8
9	----
10	!!''Change of Habit'' contains examples of:
11	* AbusiveParents: Julio, one of the patients, has a father who hits him, insults him, and tells him not to talk unless he can do it without stuttering.
12	* AndStarring: Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore in ''Change of Habit''.
13	* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler:Julio]] breaks into Michelle's apartment with a knife and pins her on the bed. Carpenter hears her screaming, runs in, and punches out the rapist.
14	* DeskSweepOfRage: A childhood version. Michelle tries to get the autistic child Amanda to put colored blocks in the appropriate holes. They have some success before Amanda loses patience and sweeps the board off the table.
15	* DressHitsFloor: When the nuns change into street clothes, their habits are shown hitting the floor.
16	* EyesAlwaysAverted: When Carpenter grabs Amanda's chin, she tries to turn her head away.
17	* FreezeFrameEnding: The credits roll over a scene of Carpenter singing to the congregation, which freezes at the end.
18	* FriendlyAddressPrivileges: Carpenter says that anyone who's worked for him for a week is allowed to call him John.
19	* HandsOnApproach: Carpenter teaches Michelle how to play guitar by standing behind her, wrapping his arms around her, and putting his hands on hers.
20	* HatesBeingTouched: Amanda resists physical contact.
21	* HollywoodAutism: The 1960s version, a curable mental illness caused by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_mother_theory refrigerator mothers.]]
22	* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Barbara convinces some men to help her move furniture into her new apartment by walking down the street in a short dress slipped off her shoulder.
23	* IHaveBrothers: Carpenter asks Michelle how she can play touch football so well.
24	-->'''Michelle''': I have five brothers.\
25	'''Carpenter''': They taught you to play?\
26	'''Michelle''': No, I taught them to play!
27	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Post-cure Amanda hears Irene, the only black nun, talking about her difficult background. Later, when she arrives at a party with a black hand puppet, she announces, "My name is Irene. When little white girls was playing with dolls I was praying I could be somebody and not just another nigger in the streets."
28	* LoanShark: Almost everyone in the neighborhood owes money to [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep The Banker]], who charges exorbitant interest rates and has his goons violently beat anyone who can't pay up.
29	* MeaningfulName: Sister Michelle has to choose between serving Jesus Christ and being in love with a man named John Carpenter (note the latter's SignificantMonogram and occupational surname).
30	* ParentalAbandonment: Amanda lives with her aunt after her mother, who never wanted her to begin with, abandoned her a few years ago, while her father is never mentioned. Her autism is explained as her hiding behind a "wall of rage" to cope with this.
31	* ThePeepingTom: [[spoiler:Julio]] spies on Michelle as she gets ready for bed.
32	* PunBasedTitle: A play on a nun's ''habit'' (outfit).
33	* SecurityBlanket: Amanda is very attached to her ''Literature/RaggedyAnn'' doll.
34	* SpeechImpediment: Julio's severe stutter, which Michelle works with him to improve. By the time he [[spoiler:tries to rape Michelle]], he seems to be mostly over it, although he still doesn't like talking in complete sentences.
35	* TantrumThrowing: Amanda throws the first block Michelle gives her across the room.
36	* TheTeetotaler: The nuns, unsurprisingly.
37	* ThenLetMeBeEvil: [[spoiler:Julio's attempts at returning the stolen statue only gets him arrested and blamed for breaking it, so he gives up on good and tries to rape Michelle.]]
38	* ThiefBag: When [[spoiler:Julio sneaks into the church to return the statue he stole]], he carries in a sack, presumably the one he stole it in.
39	* ThrowingOffTheDisability: Amanda is cured with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_therapy rage reduction]], which supposedly lets her anger out and allows her to interact normally.
40	* WavingSignsAround: Enraged by a cashier's unfair treatment of Hispanic customers, Barb makes a sign that says "AJAX GROCERIES '''UNFAIR''' TO CUSTOMERS" and sits by the counter ranting about it until she's arrested.

Context Film / ChangeOfHabit