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    Connie and Carla

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    “Connie and Carla” has its moments but it’s forgettable comedy with a few moments of heart. The tone of the movie varies wildly. For every scene that’s genuine there is another that cancels it out with goofy nonsense that falls flat.

    Connie (Nia Vardalos) and Carla (Toni Collette) are failed musical theater performers whose careers are going nowhere. After accidentally witnessing a mob hit, they go on the run. The women infiltrate the gay cross-dressing scene and become instant hits pretending to be the best cross-dressing men in L. A!

    While the situation inside the gay club doesn’t do much except reinforce stereotypes, the characters are enjoyable to watch. Maybe I’m simply not well informed on the subject, but I don’t think the eccentric and flamboyant behavior shown here is all that off. We are talking about drag queens, and not ordinary ones either: these ladies perform for audiences in a gay cub called “The Handlebar”. The movie resists the obvious cheap jokes that could have been made at their expense and my understanding is that a number of real-life drag queens were used so bonus points for authenticity. The musical and dance sequences are fun too, as Connie and Carla introduce the radical gimmick of actually singing their songs!

    Otherwise, the picture is filled with obvious plot developments and there’s plenty of lame comedy. The villain of the film has a sidekick Tibor (Boris McGiver) who suddenly develops a love for musical theatre to the point of going to see every show in the U. S. It’s not particularly organically introduced or logical, but the bad guys have to discover our heroines somehow, right? David Duchovny plays the role of Jeff, the obligatory love interest that will add additional drama to the story but who will ultimately play out in a predictable manner. He’s meeting his brother, a drag queen, for the first time in years, there’s going to be some drama there as there’s the whole “can I accept him, will he accept me, I don’t even want to take that chance so let’s back out of the reunion thing going on”. We get an obligatory scene where Jeff’s thinly developed fiancé forces him to say some hurtful things to his brother just so we can have a moment of redemption at the end. Not for the fiancé of course, fiancés in films not revolving on weddings are always jerks. Otherwise when the would-be couple predictably breaks up you’d feel bad! Just like every single buddy comedy out there, we also have that moment where the two leads have a fight and have to rekindle that old flame of friendship so the plot can be padded out too.

    Despite not actually being one, “Connie and Carla” feels like a watered-down remake, without any bite or novelty to it whatsoever. While it’s never offensive and is at times genuinely funny there’s just nothing that stands out. A moment worth noting is a very fun cameo by Debbie Reynolds, who still has plenty of musical talent to dispense but that comes towards the end of the picture. You won’t be angry or bored while watching “Connie and Carla” but this is the type of movie you rent on a lazy day if you have uncontrollable love for the actors or some of the subject matter featured in the plot, not the kind that you rush out to see in the theatre or even buy on home video. (On DVD, April 22 2013)

    5
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    adamwatchesmovies@  25.3.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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