Connie And Carla

Synopsis: Since they were schoolkids, Connie and Carla (Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette) have always wanted to sing together in a show. As adults, the show they have developed is corny and the only gig they can get is at a Chicago airport lounge. They witness the murder of their boss by the Mafia and flee to Los Angeles and end up impersonating drag queens. They finally get to 'put on a show' and be loved and adored. But will the mobsters find them? And how long can they be drag queens? They start wanting to lead a normal life as girls again, especially when Connie falls for a straight guy (David Duchovny).

Connie And Carla starts badly and has lots of really, really bad moments, but there is an upside - it does grow on you and it is a lot of fun.

First, the bad bits. The film is too preachy. Vardalos wrote the script and is all over the place in trying to get all these self-esteem-and-acceptance messages across, as well as fit in a romantic comedy and a musical. The ending is typically mawkish, sentimental Hollywood rubbish - pukesville, in other words. Overall, Vardalos really needs to practice her writing. She has some good ideas, but needs to workshop them to get the junk out and to tighten that emerging talent of hers.

Despite all this, the singing, the drag queens and the actors make this a fun film to watch. Much has been made of Collette's drag queen performance, and rightly so. The actress is on record as saying that she let her inner drag queen come out. The latter is regal indeed, however, Collette's performance as 'herself', i.e. Carla as a normal stars-in-her-eyes-kinda-gal, is just a bit too wide-eyed and dopey. Vardalos is great in both characters, showing some wonderful tender, restrained and funny moments with her scenes with Duchovny. She knows when to go over the top, and when to hold it back. Her make-up, however, looked like she'd just done a Cher and caked on a bit too much, rather than doing the drag queen special.

Duchovny is serviceable as the inhibited and slightly embarrassed love interest. He is also the long-lost brother of one of the drag queens who wants to reconnect, but is having difficulties coming to grips with the scene (providing another opportunity for Vardarlos to slip in a few more preachy messages). Debbie Reynolds, an idol of Connie and Carla, makes a barely-recognisable appearance as herself and belts out a couple of numbers for the fans.

Connie And Carla is like a cross between Showgirls and Some Like It Hot. However, the former is in 'it's so bad it's good' territory, and Wilder's film certainly had more wit. Certainly it's nothing outstanding, but still is great to watch due to the likeable characters the actors have created out of a mish-mash of ideas. And, of course, there's the musical numbers.

 

 

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