Okay. I’ll admit it. I’d been kind of blue since I got back from California this past Tuesday night.
And Nancy — who’d grown tired of seeing me mope around the house — had finally had enough. Which is why she threw me in the car yesterday morning and drove me into Boston.
Why for? Because Universal Pictures and Splyglass Entertainment was holding a special sneak preview of Nia Vardalos’ newest film, “Connie & Carla.” And Nancy was hoping that seeing this new comedy might finally knock me out of my funk.
“Who’s Nia Vardalos?” you ask. Oh, surely you haven’t already forgotten about the star/screenwriter of 2002’s smash hit, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” The Energizer Bunny of motion pictures. The romantic comedy that cost just $5 million to make, but eventually went on to earn $241 million during its domestic run.
Well, “Connie & Carla” is Nia’s next time up at bat. (We’ll overlook the somewhat embarrassing flame-out of Vardalos’ “Greek Wedding” TV spin-off, CBS’s short-lived “My Big Fat Greek Life.”) So … the big question is: Did Nia deliver the goods yet again? Is “C & C” another audience pleasing comedy in the tradition of “My Fat Big Greek Wedding”?
Yeah. Actually it is.
Don’t get me wrong, folks. I seriously doubt that “Connie & Carla” will ever do the sort of business that “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” did back in 2002 and 2003. That said, I’m still fairly certain that this Universal Studios/Spyglass Entertainment release will do okay once it hits theaters on April 16th.
Why for? Because “Connie & Carla” shares many of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”‘s virtues. The film features several winning performances. It also liberally mixes laughs & heart. Okay, some of the movie’s jokes may play a bit broadly at times. And “C & C”‘s plot can be rather predictable.
Yeah. About that plot …
Okay. Let’s start by stating the obvious: “Connie & Carla” borrows huge chunks of Billy Wilder’s 1959 classic, “Some Like It Hot.” Vardalos plays Connie and Toni Collette plays Carla, two struggling singers who — while working a lounge at O’Hare Airport — accidentally witness a gangland slaying. Fearing for their lives, the two chums hit the road and eventually wind up in Los Angeles.
“Where in LA?” you query. In West Hollywood, to be precise. The gay center of the known universe. When their attempts at non-theatrical careers fail miserably, Connie and Carla return to song and dance to earn their bread and butter. Not as girl singers, mind you. But by pretending to be drag queens.
From here on in, Nia switches from swiping from “Some Like It Hot” to borrowing from Blake Edwards’ 1982 musical comedy, “Victor/Victoria.” With Connie and Carla suddenly becoming a hit on LA’s cabaret circuit, their comical struggles to keep their real identities under wraps as well as Vardalos’ character suddenly developing a crush on Jeff (David Duchovny), the straight brother of her club co-horts (Steven Spinella).
But … you know what? Just about the time Duchovny entered this film, I stopped worrying about all the other movies that Vardalos had allegedly borrowed story ideas from and just began enjoying “Connie & Carla” for what it actually was. Which is basically a good hearted, crowd-pleasing comedy.
Sure, some people may be put off by how gay friendly “Connie & Carla” is. But — given this is the year of the Metrosexual and “*** Eye for the Straight Guy” — I’m guessing that group will decidedly be in the minority.
In fact, the movie’s gay friendly feel was one of the aspects of “C & C” that finally really won Nancy and I over to this film. We liked that the drag queens in this picture that befriend Connie and Carla aren’t just played for laughs. That these admittedly colorful characters are actually presented as fully realized characters. That — under all those sequins — Connie and Carla’s back-up singers are just guys that an audience can really come to care about.
So — okay — you can see the movie’s outcome coming from a couple of miles away. But director Michael Lembeck keeps “Connie & Carla” moving at a swift enough pace that you don’t really care about the holes in the plot by then. Plus the film’s production values (FYI: That’s Vancouver standing in West Hollywood) are pretty decent as well.
Given the Hollywood heavyweights who are involved with this Universal Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment production (Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are listed among “C & C”‘s producers), I’m betting that a lot of eyes will be on “Connie & Carla” when this film finally bows in theaters on April 16th. I’m also fairly certain that tongues in Tinsel Town will immediately begin to wag when this movie doesn’t automatically start racking up “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”-sized grosses.
In the end, that’s not really going to matter. While it’s almost certain not to pull in “Big Fat” bucks, “Connie & Carla” is virtually guaranteed to do decent business during its domestic release. Given how happily the audience chattered at the end of the sneak preview that I attended yesterday, I certain that this film is sure to get some good word of mouth going fairly shortly. So — even if “C & C” doesn’t do all that well on its initial theatrical release — I’m betting that this Nia Vardalos movie (particularly if it’s promoted as being “From the folks who brought you ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding'”) is sure to do well once it shows up at your local video store.
As for my funk … it started to fade once the Russian hitman — who had been visiting dinner theaters throughout the U.S. in search of Connie and Carla — found himself singing along while watching his third production of “Mame.” And my blues were totally obliterated by the time Debbie Reynolds showed up for her somewhat bizarre cameo.
Okay. So “Connie & Carla” isn’t art. What it is, is a fairly entertaining motion picture. Something that made me smile on a pretty grey Match day.
Whether “C & C” will do the same for you once this Universal Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment production rolls into theaters on April 16th … who can say?
All I know is … I had a good time yesterday. Here’s hoping — when you finally see “Connie & Carla” — you have a good time too.
Your thoughts?