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Connie and Carla The only thing worse than sitting through a bad comedy is sitting in front of the only two people in the theater who think this is the funniest movie EVER! Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette star as Connie and Carla - two nerdy Chicago gals who think dinner theater and show tunes are the greatest forms of entertainment (Does that give you the shakes? Just wait. It gets better). One night, these two Debbie Reynolds wannabes witness a mob hit, so, fearing for their lives, they leave town for the one place where they can hide, Los Angeles. Still yearning to perform, (get ready, here it comes) Connie and Carla, who are women, pose as men, who like to dress like women, and start to find the kind of fame they always wanted. However, this newfound attention could expose them and their hiding place. Will Connie and Carla blow their cover? Are you still reading? The idea could have worked, but Vardalos, who wrote Connie and Carla, doesn't go all the way. Somewhere in the middle of this semi-comedic tale (about people being true to themselves and preaching tolerance) is a laugh out loud farce that doesn't get to come out and play. Connie and Carla are too street smart for this movie to work. They're from Chicago, so this kind of thing shouldn't shock them, especially when we learn about their connections across the country. If they were two bumbling, fish-out-of-water, naïve gals from Wisconsin or Indiana, or they were Dumb and Dumber, the comedy could come from the culture shock of trying to live in LA among drag queens. Instead, Vardalos reveals her true intentions about half way through the movie. I am convinced Vardalos wrote Connie and Carla just so she could kiss David Duchovny. It wasn't to make us laugh (trust me on that one). The X-Files legend plays Jeff - the brother of one of the drag queens who ends up becoming the object of Connie's affection. While he has some funny moments as a man who thinks a male, gay drag queen is chasing after him, and some touching moments as a man trying to reconnect with his estranged brother, Duchovny's most important task in this film is to kiss Nia Vardalos, so pucker up! Connie and Carla has some laughs, so don't shoot me. I enjoyed the Russian mobster who goes across the country looking for Connie and Carla, moments when Collette and Vardalos are allowed to revel in kookiness, and a fun appearance from Debbie Reynolds, but Connie and Carla tries so hard to teach us a lesson that, at times, it feels like an after school special. 1 Waffle (Out of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com |
