"A good-hearted little comedy that’s likely to please the legions of fans who enjoyed Vardalos in her big fat prior success." Austin O'Connor, LOWELL SUN "Filled with zest and energetic performances, Connie and Carla is a fun romp played for laughs about two naïve songstresses who find fame, fortune and love in the guise of drag queens. There’s the look of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the notion of Victor Victoria, the anti-gay discrimination of The Bird Cage and the girlie-friendship of Thelma and Louise." Louise Keller BIG POND ENTERTAINMENT "Boldly reworking the Some Like It Hot plot, with a nod to Victor/Victoria and La Cage aux Folles, Vardalos has come up with a crowd-pleaser that is entirely her own." Kevin Thomas LOS ANGELES TIMES "I wanted to sing along with Connie and Carla, just like many of their adoring fans in this fun gender-bending musical." Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS "A silly and sweet musical comedy that is surprisingly fun." Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS "I went into the theater tired and dragging and emerged singing a show tune and smiling. I hope you'll have the same reaction." Luanne Brown HOMETOWNSOURCE.COM

"Hang on to your crotches darhlings or this cute little gender bender will have you tucking in your cock, tossing on a frock, wiggling into a wig and teasing the tonsils to the tune of "Mame". Well, what are you waiting for? Slip into the stilleto's and join in the camp fun of "Connie And Carla." It's wickedly, wildly campelicious. I laughed so hard my falsies fell out [and I don't mean my teeth!]. Drag yourselves along to "Connie And Carla". Fabulous fun." Frederick Munchemhoff THE GAY INVESTIGATOR "Director Michael Lembeck is no Billy Wilder. And, like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the screenplay belies Nia Vardalos's stand-up roots. But the film has the colourful, upfront energy of, well, a drag queen. And enough decent one-liners to keep us entertained even with an unconvincing romantic subplot with a misused David Duchovny. Some like it hot. But some will still enjoy it reheated." Vicki Roach THE DAILY TELEGRAPH "...the film has a consistent warmth that takes it a long way, and a few inspired moments." Paul Byrnes THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD "An infectiously funny farce in the Some Like it Hot, Victor/Victoria tradition." Roger Moore ORLANDO SENTINEL "Brassy, sassy and laugh-aloud funny in a let’s-put-on-a-show way." Tom Long DETROIT NEWS "..... it makes you laugh, you'll want to sing along and in the perfect world you would be able to eat dinner while you watch." Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone THEMOVIECHICKS.COM

At A Glance

"The song and dance routines really are a hoot, delivered with such affectionate sincerity that I dare you not to be entertained." Nell Minow MOVIE MOM AT YAHOO! MOVIES

Like many people I always like to make comparisons, but I often shake my head in disbelief at some of the useless comparisons made by many film critics. Take "Connie and Carla", a film about two girls on the run, who, in an endevour to gain anonymity disguise themselves as guys playing girls in a drag show. Now it's good to drag out a list of films which featured people playing the opposite gender, so here's a few. "Some Like It Hot", "Dressed To Kill", "Tootsie", "Victoria Victoria", "Mrs Doubtfire" and the latest screen contribution, "White Chicks". They are just a few of the many gender bending films we have enjoyed over the last four or five decades. Many films featured some very famous faces in cross dressing roles, like Gene Hackman in "The Bird Cage" and "Michael Caine in "The Actors". Even the ladies got in on the act with Julie Andrews playing a woman who presents herself as a man pretending he's a woman in "Victoria/Victoria" and Oscar winner Hillary Swank playing a young girl who lives her life as a young boy in "Boys Don't Cry". Obviously then, what we see in "Connie And Carla" isn't new by any stretch of the imagination. While it's fair to compare "Connie And Carla" with these past 'treasures', there is a lot of new ground in Nia Vardalos's new film. Surprisingly some of it comes from real life. Take those opening scenes. There is a ring of truth to them as Nia Vardalos remembers, "I was performing in Oklahoma at a dinner theater in Toronto; we were waitressing and also in the show, so we would serve them dinner and chat with them and then we’d jump onstage and do the show. At intermission, we’d clear and bring dessert and then finish the show. I thought it was hilarious." The added bonus for Vardalos was, "I did the show and got to know the audience as I was clearing away their prime rib." You can't get more intimate with an audience than that. Now can you? A seasoned stage performer with the big hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" behind her Vardalos draws inspiration from her early days. "when I started out, my phone wasn’t exactly ringing off the hook with dealmakers looking for that funny Greek girl," she said. "Please. But like the classic story, I just kept at it. I really had to be my own cheerleader at times. It can be really tough, sometimes being the only person in your corner. But I believed. And I worked at whatever I could do." Of course success with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" sure got the phone ringing. "When "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" started getting noticed, people began knocking on my door asking, What else do you have? Of course, I said, Hey, I have this script in my drawer about two women who hide out as drag queens." As with her first film, the big break for Nia's second film once again came by word of mouth. President for Spyglass Entertainment Jonathan Glickman, heard about "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" through his cousin. At the time he notes the film had taken just $10 million, but he was suitably impressed. "I’d heard some buzz on the picture. It had made about 10 million at that point, but people hadn’t started talking about Nia; yet. I knew that Peter Safran represented her, so we all sat down and had a very nice meeting. She gave us her script for "Connie and Carla" and as soon as I read it, I knew there was a great idea in there. I gave the script to Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber, and we decided to acquire the rights. Then, almost right after that, Nia became a big star." "Nia’s script is funny and touching," says producer Roger Birnbaum. "Of all the scripts that come across our desks every single day, this one just really stood out. And when you can break through the clutter with something like this, you go for it." But it's here I can reveal a little known fact. Nia's original script wasn't about drag queens. Director Michael Lembeck too was impressed by her script. "When I first read the script, Connie and Carla appealed to my entire history, theatrically speaking," he said. "My Dad did many Broadway shows and from the time I was seven years old, he started taking me to the theater. Also, as an actor, I’ve performed in dozens of musicals." Nia had worked with Lembeck on the television show "Two Guys and a Girl" and recalls, "when his name came up for directing this movie, I was thrilled to sit down with him. Then, of course, I found out he was a big musical theater geek!" The two worked well together and Lembeck certainly has a high opinion of Vardalos. "As a writer, Nia is the most affable, joyous person I’ve ever collaborated with," he says. "She’s so much fun. She’s so receptive to ideas. She’s unafraid to say, 'No', and she’s unafraid to say, 'Yes'." Something else which impressed Lembeck was the quality of his two stars when it cam to performing the many songs featured in the film. "Whenever you have established stars doing something new, something most of their fans haven’t seen, there is a moment in a theater when the audience holds it breath. Like a comic actor in a Shakespearean role," he said. "Well, I knew that both Nia and Toni were powerhouse singers, but I don’t think their fans know it. I can’t wait for that moment when the world hears, like I have, these women opening their mouths and these amazing voices just pouring out." Once you've seen "Connie And Carla" you'll agree, both Collette and Vardalos sure can sing up a storm. And here's another little secret. Vardalos really did want Collette as her co-star. "I just love her," says Vardalos. "Every actress I know wants to work with her because she’s a broad, you know, not too girly, not too tough. She’s just this great woman." Producer Jonathan Glickman explained, "We knew we needed somebody who could sing but who wasn’t such a gigantic celebrity that it would break up the reality of the movie. The great thing about Nia is, people in this country accept her as an everyday woman, and we didn’t want somebody opposite her who was going to infringe on that belief and bring a feeling of, now, we’re in a slick Hollywood movie." And once again I can reveal, "The filmmakers were thrilled when Collette read the script, loved it and signed on to do the project." Crew Bytes "Connie and Carla" was .......
directed by Michael Lembeck ["The Santa Clause 2"]; screenplay by Nia Vardalos ["My Big Fat Greek Wedding"]; costume design by Ruth Myers ["Smashing Time", "A Touch of Class", "Altered States", "L.A. Confidential" and "Proof of Life"]; production design by Jasna Stefanovic ["The Virgin Suicides", "Josie and the Pussycats", "Cypher" and "Honey"]; edited by David Finfer ["Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey", "The Fugitive", "Kissing a Fool" and "The Santa Clause 2"]; director of photography and BAFTA Award winner Richard Greatrex B.S.C ["Mrs. Brown", "Shakespeare in Love", "A Knight’s Tale" and "I Capture the Castle"]; original music composed by Emmy Award winner Randy Edelman ["Ghostbusters II", "Kindergarten Cop" "Black Knight" and "Shanghai Knights"] and dance choreography by Helpmann Award winner Cynthia Onrubia ["Chicago", "Cabaret", "Big Fish" and "Analyze That"]. "Connie and Carla" producers include Jonathan Glickman ["While You Were Sleeping", "Grosse Pointe Blank", "Shanghai Knights" and "The Perfect Score"] and ["Midnight Crossing", "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective", "Seabiscuit" and "Bruce Almighty"]. Casting About "Connie and Carla " stars .......
Independent Spirit Award winner Nia Vardalos ["My Big Fat Greek Wedding"]; AFI Award winner Toni Collette ["Muriel’s Wedding", "The Sixth Sense", "Shaft", "About a Boy", "Dirty Deeds" and "Japanese Story"]; Golden Globe Award winner David Duchovny ["Kalifornia", "Evolution", "Return to Me", "Chaplin" and "Zoolander"]; Obie Award, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award winner Stephen Spinella ["The Cradle Will Rock", "Ravenous", "Great Expectations", "The Jackal" and "Faithful"]; Dash Mihok ["The Thin Red Line", "Dark Blue", "The Perfect Storm", "The Guru" and "Basic"]; LA Weekly Award and Garland Award winner Alec Mapa ["Falling Off the Verge", "Playing by Heart". "The Substance of Fire", "Bright Lights Big City", "A New Life" and "Home"]; Ian Gomez ["Rookie Of The Year", "'Til There Was You", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Chasing Papi"]; Nick Sandow ["Hand Gun", "No Looking Back", "Dust" and "Swimfan"]; Boris McGiver ["Ironweed", "Cradle Will Rock", "The Associate" and "Jesus' Son "]; Robert John Burke ["Looking for Mr Goodbar", "RoboCop 3", "Cop Land" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"] and special guest star Debbie Reynolds ["The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady", "Three Little Words", "The Tender Trap", "The Rat Race" and "In & Out"] as herself. The Story

"This is the feel-good comedy of the season. There may be a few curmudgeons who won’t enjoy Connie and Carla, but that will be their loss." Daniel M Kimmel WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Connie and Carla are two good friends eking out a living as dinner theatre performers. Until they witness their boss getting knocked off by the local crime boss he's mixed up with. Now their on the run with a crazy Russian hit-man on their trail. They have to disappear. Go somewhere no-one will find them. What better place could there be than Los Angeles. As fate would have it they're led to the ideal place where their annonimity is guaranteed. A small caberat club featuring male drag queen performers. It's ideal. A perfect hiding place. Here theY can pretend to be boys pretending to be girls. Who'd ever think of looking for them here. All goes well until they become the toast of the caberat crowd and Connie gets a crush on a straight guy named Jeff who is trying to get back together with his long lost gay brother. The Verdict "If you go along expecting a "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" in drag then you're going to be terribly disappointed. On the other hand, if you go to the theatre with an open mind you'll probably have a real fun time. "Connie and Carla isn't meant to be a big, demanding story. It's down to earth, good hearted, unpretentious, fun with real heart. The bottom line? You'll get your monies worth." The Cast

Nia Vardalos Toni Collette David Duchovny Stephen Spinella Alec Mapa Christopher Logan Robert Kaiser Ian Gomez Nick Sandow Dash Mihok Robert John Burke Boris McGiver Don Ackerman Debbie Reynolds Veena Sood BabZ Chula Linda Darlow Charles Payne Michael Roberds Guy Fauchon Gary Jones Fiona Hogan Ryf Van Rij Adam Harrington D Neil Mark Krista Rae Brittney Wilson Danielle Woodman

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Connie Carla Jeff Robert/Peaches Lee/N'Cream Brian/Brianna Paul Stanley Al Mikey Rudy Tibor Super Fey Guy Herself Mrs Morse Carla's Mom Connie's Mom Hollywood Policeman Frank Another Super Fey Guy Bartender Natasha Cute Guy Cute Guy Crooked Cop Mary Young Carla Young Connie

The Crew Directed by Michael Lembeck Written by Nia Vardalos Produced by Gary Barber/Roger Birnbaum/Jonathan Glickman/Tom Hanks/Rita Wilson Original Music by Randy Edelman Cinematography by Richard Greatrex Film Editing by David Finfer Production Design by Jasna Stefanovic Art Direction by Geoff Wallace Set Decoration by Dominique Fauquet-Lemaitre Costume Design by Ruth Myers Run Time 98 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Universal Studios - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2004 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved