A little romance, a lotta laughs -- and cheesy Broadway showtunes. Who could ask for anything more from hometown heroine Nia Vardalos's drag-queen comedy Connie and Carla?
Writer-actor Vardalos and Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding, The Hours) play lifelong pals who mount a fabulously corny musical act in a Chicago airport lounge and dream of big-time dinner-theatre stardom. When they witness a murder and unwittingly take possession of a sack of purloined cocaine, the pair have to go on the lam, hiding in the one place nobody would ever look for them -- a city so devoid of culture it doesn't even have dinner theatre.
Once in Los Angeles, the naive duo move into a West Hollywood apartment and stumble into a gig as a drag-queen cabaret act -- Vardalos gives a shout-out to her hometown at the audition, when Connie signs the pair up as Al and Mike from Winnipeg -- and begin to realize their dinner-theatre dream. Oh, and Connie (Vardalos) falls in love with a straight guy (The X-Files' David Duchovney) who thinks she's got her queer eye on him.
As with her debut blockbuster -- My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you may have heard of it -- Vardalos is the writer and star of Connie and Carla. The vast success of that movie puts her in a precarious position. Unless box-office lightning strikes twice, some naysayers will gleefully characterize her sophomore film as a big fat flop. But that won't make it any less fun.
To her credit, Vardalos isn't pretending to be Dickens and she isn't trying to reinvent the wheel -- Connie and Carla practically begs for comparisons to Some Like it Hot, Tootsie and Victor/Victoria, and the happy outcome is never in doubt.
She is, however, sticking to her own strong suit, delivering a wholesome comedy with an element of fairy-tale romance and pointed messages about following your dreams and being true to yourself.
Vardalos and Collette are both credible singers and their musical numbers are legitimately entertaining -- just try not to laugh at an early medley of songs from Oklahoma!, Jesus Christ Superstar, Yentl and Cats.
The villains and some of the good guys are cookie-cutter stereotypes but they get the job done. And there are some nice surprises, including a cameo from movie queen Debbie Reynolds and an appearance from Vardalos's husband Ian Gomez as comically glum cabaret owner Stanley.
The big finish is an over-the-top medley of slapstick, melodrama and sappy sentiment that ties up all the loose ends at lightning speed. All in all, it's just what we'd expect in a grand dinner-theatre finale -- except this one sent us home wearing a smile.
(This film is rated PG)
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