Connie and Carla
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| Connie and Carla | |
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| Directed by | Michael Lembeck |
| Produced by | Gary Barber Roger Birnbaum Jonathan Glickman Tom Hanks |
| Written by | Nia Vardalos |
| Starring | Nia Vardalos Toni Collette David Duchovny Stephen Spinella Alec Mapa |
| Music by | Randy Edelman |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 16, 2004 |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27 million[1] |
| IMDb profile | |
Connie and Carla is a 2004 comedy film directed by Michael Lembeck and starring Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette and David Duchovny.
Tagline: When you follow your dream, there's no telling what you'll become.
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[edit] Synopsis
Vardalos and Collette play the title characters, whose lifelong friendship and co-obsession with musical theatre have brought nothing but career dead ends. Despite this they continue their optimism, hosting a variety act at an airport lounge. After accidentally witnessing a mafia hit in Chicago, they go on the run, landing in L.A.. Initially working at a beauty salon, they wind up posing as drag queens and auditioning to host a drag review at a gay club.
Because they sing their own songs (a rarity for queens), they are hired, and their variety show (first entitled What a Drag (Pun Intended!) then called Connie and Carla and the Belles of the Balls after they add a few friends to the act) becomes a hit. Things are going smoothly but the two make a pact not to let men interfere with their life. This causes conflict when Connie falls for Jeff (Duchovny), the straight brother of Robert, one of their drag queen friends. As the show gets bigger, the two convince the club owner to convert it into a full dinner theater, and eventually their popularity threatens to expose them.
On the official opening night of the dinner theater, the mob killers catch up with them, but with the help of their drag queen friends, and to great applause from the audience (who think it is part of their act), Connie and Carla take them down. They ultimately confess their real identities to the audience and are accepted for who they are. Connie reveals herself to Jeff, who arrives after the chaos. He accepts her and becomes her love interest. This movie was filmed in Vancouver, B.C. and featured a number of local drag queens.
[edit] Musicals referenced or featured
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The following is a list of musicals referenced or featured in the film (in order of first reference):
- Oklahoma! – Connie and Carla perform the song "Oklahoma!" in the airport lounge. (They later perform part of the song "I Cain't Say No" during their audition at The Handlebar.)
- Jesus Christ Superstar – Connie and Carla perform the song "Superstar" in the airport lounge. (They later perform the end of the song "Everything's Alright" during their first performance at The Handlebar.)
- Yentl – Connie and Carla perform the song "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" in the airport lounge.
- Cats – Connie and Carla perform the song "Memory" in the airport lounge.
- Cabaret – Connie and Carla perform the song "Maybe This Time" at their audition at The Handlebar.
- Evita – Connie and Carla perform the song "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" at their audition at The Handlebar.
- Mame – this is the first of many interludes featuring Tibor at a community theater performance of Mame.
- South Pacific – "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair," part of Connie and Carla's performance in What a Drag (Pun Intended!) at The Handlebar. They also sing "There is Nothing Like a Dame" at the end of the film with the rest of the main cast.
- Funny Girl – Connie and Carla sing "Don't Rain on My Parade," part of their performance in What a Drag (Pun Intended!) at The Handlebar.
- Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Producers, Say Goodnight, Gracie, Never Gonna Dance, Gypsy, Chicago, Mamma Mia!, Long Days Journey into Night, Master Harold...and the Boys, Avenue Q, Man of La Mancha, and Hairspray – Billboards for these shows are shown.
- Gypsy, Rent, and Hairspray – At this point in the film, these are mentioned by Tibor, though no songs from the shows are sung.
- Gypsy – "Let Me Entertain You" is now performed by Connie and Carla and the Belles of the Balls.
- Hair – Connie says the guys should enter from the back of the house on "Good Morning, Starshine."
- The Music Man – Debbie Reynolds says they should enter from the back of the house on "Seventy-Six Trombones."
- Grease – Debbie Reynolds and Connie and Carla and the Belles of the Balls sing "There are Worse Things I Could Do."
- A Chorus Line – Connie and Carla sing "What I Did for Love."
- Guys and Dolls – Connie mentions "the Guys and Dolls tribute."
Additionally, the movie as a whole can be compared to Victor/Victoria for the theme of a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman.
[edit] Cast
Nia Vardalos -- Connie
Toni Collette -- Carla
David Duchovny -- Jeff
Stephen Spinella -- Robert/Peaches
Alec Mapa -- Lee/N'Creme
Chris Logan -- Brian/Patty Melt
Robert Kaiser -- Paul
Ian Gomez -- Stanley
Nick Sandow -- Al
Dash Mihok -- Mikey
Robert John Burke -- Rudy
Boris McGiver -- Tibor
Don Ackerman -- Super Fey Guy
Veena Sood -- Mrs. Morse
Brittney Wilson -- Young Carla
And a special appearance by Debbie Reynolds as Herself.
This is not David Duchovny's first role in the world of drag queens/transvestites. He had a memorable recurring role as a transvestite DEA agent on the series Twin Peaks.
Boris McGiver, who plays Tibor, goes searching for Conne and Carla in many dinner theaters and seems to always be catching a production of Mame; he is the son of John McGiver, who plays Mr. Babcock in the film version of Mame.
[edit] Box office
The film did very poorly at the box office, having essentially been dumped by the studio with little advertising to back it.[citation needed] With a budget of $27M[1], the film grossed only $8.086M domestically[1], and $3.225M in foreign release[1]. The opening weekend it grossed $3.255M.[1]
[edit] See also
- Drag queens
- Faux Queens - Women who dress as drag queens.
- Outrageous! - Another film in which a drag queen (played by a man) sings his own songs.
