Connie and Carla no drag when queens start to sing
by Amanda Gruidl
entertainment editor

Hollywood has created a new genre, what with movies like Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, To Wong Foo and the widely unseen classic, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Well, maybe not a new genre, but it should be.

With such classic films as Victor/Victoria and Some Like it Hot, the new release, Connie and Carla, follows a popular and funny tradition.

With the film featuring two women pretending to be drag queens, Hollywood has secured itself a big hit on a frequently tapped resource: drag humor.

Connie and Carla stars Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and Toni Collette (About a Boy) as Connie and Carla, two airport lounge singers performing show tunes.

The two are big-time dreamers, but their dreams have taken them nowhere.

When they witness their boss’s murder, the girls leave town quickly and head to a place where no one will look for them, a city completely devoid of culture— L.A.

There they hide out looking for a job.

When work at a day spa fails, they find work at the Handlebar, a drag nightclub.

They perform as drag queens and become instant headliners and stars.

Things begin to heat up when Connie (Vardalos) meets Jeff (David Duchovny, X-Files, Evolution) and when the man looking for Connie and Carla accidentally finds out where they are.

Their two boyfriends (one’s not nice; the other a die-hard romantic) come to warn them.

The movie features a cameo by legendary actress Debbie Reynolds, whom the girls have idolized.

While the situation isn’t new to any moviegoer, the humor in this movie is strictly Vardalos, who wrote the screenplay.

When the girls sing their rendition of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina to a group of apathetic, fellow auditioners, the group suddenly breaks out into a vibrant chorus.

Throughout the movie runs a side story of one of the killers, who begins to fall in love with musical theater during his search for Connie and Carla.

Connie and Carla is a good movie filled with musical numbers by Vardalos and Collette, who have amazing voices.

The movie is PG-13 for sexual humor and some drug content, but the film is worth seeing.

Last Updated: 4/14/2004
Copyright © 2004 The Collegian - All Rights Reserved