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Very surprising, Jui 16 2004
I wasn't expecting an awful lot from 'Connie and Carla', I must say - as a gay man I am somewhat over-used to a gay theme in movies being an excuse for Hollywood Cliche and Desperation ('To Wong Foo', 'Jeffrey'), but I must point out how pleasantly surprised I was with this 2004 offering from Michael Lembeck ('Friends', 'Mad About You'). The plot follows dinner-theatre afficiandos Connie (Nia Vardalos) and Carla (Toni Collette) as they go into hiding from a murderous Crimelord, disguised as drag queens working in the Handle Bar. Enter Robert, AKA Peaches (Stephen Spinella), and his estranged brother Jeff (David Duchovney), who help the girls find a job, a home, and hopefuly, a way out of the mess their lives have become. What's so surprising about 'Connie and Carla' is the genuine sincerity with which the leads play their parts - it would have been so easy to play the role for cheap slapstick gags but Vardalos and Collette do their reputations justice and keep it more real than many drag movies I can remember, and the film benefits hugely from this - a bit like how Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors' wasn't played for Camp, even though the character itsef was the living embodiment of Camp. Spinella as Peaches looks uncannily like the Mom from 'The Wonder Years' but as Robert, is whole and believable as a hypersensitive and family-estranged gay man, and Duchovney as Jeff turns in a surprisingly endearing and fluid performance as Jeff. Comic relief comes in the shape of the supporting cast (Alec Mapa is particularly funny), and a cameo from Debbie Reynolds (in fine form) completes the roster of players for the movie. Direction is pretty mundane, for the most part, but where this comes into its own is during the cabaret scenes - why should semi-amateur numbers in a small, rather unsuccessful L.A. bar look like MGM Musical Extraveganzas, anyway? - and this is nicely contrasted with the building crescendo as the bar, and Connie & Carla, become more affluent. Musically it's not an average run-of-the-mill drag flick either, and it's nice to see touches like 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar' being used for comedy effect - and not a sign of bloody 'I will Survive'! Excellent. Vardalos and Collette (though we do not really see enough of the latter) are excellent comedic actresses, and, along with strong performances from a solid supporting cast, save 'Connie and Carla' from Mundane and push it right up alongside movies like 'But I'm a Cheerleader' in terms of quirky likeability. The ending is too sugary for words, but all in all, this a very definite recommendation for fans of showtunes, comedy and all-round fun movies. Excellent.
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Accueil Amazon
