''Connie and Carla'' is a 2004 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Michael Lembeck Michael Lembeck (born June 25, 1948) is an American actor and television and film director. Best known as Max Horvath in '' One Day at a Time'' (1979-1984). Life and career Lembeck was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Caroline Dubs and ...

and starring

Nia Vardalos Antonia Eugenia Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), which garnered her nominati ...

Toni Collette Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, inclu ...

, and

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as writ ...

. The screenplay was written by Vardalos. The film was shot in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and featured a number of local

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

s including Joan-E, Justine Tyme, Carlotta Gurl, Summer Clearance, Devana Demille, Seemore Illusion and Helena Handbag.

Plot

Connie and Carla are two performers whose lifelong friendship and co-obsession with

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

have brought nothing, but career dead ends. Despite this, they continue their optimism, hosting a variety act at an

airport lounge An airport lounge is a facility operated at many airports. Airport lounges offer, for selected passengers, comforts beyond those afforded in the airport terminal itself, such as more comfortable seating, quieter environments, and often better acce ...

. After accidentally witnessing a mafia hit in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, they go on the run, landing in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. After being fired from a beauty salon, they pose as

s and audition to host a drag revue at a

gay club A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served ...

called "The Handlebar." Because they sing their own songs (a rarity for queens), they are hired, and their variety show (at first titled ''What a Drag (Pun Intended!)'' then later re-titled ''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 they make a pact not to let men interfere with their life. This causes conflict when Connie falls for Jeff, the straight brother of Robert, one of their drag queen friends. As the show gets bigger, they convince the club owner, Stanley, 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. 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 boyfriend.

Cast

as Connie *

as Carla *

as Jeff * Stephen Spinella as Robert / Peaches *

Alec Mapa Alejandro "Alec" Mapa (; born July 10, 1965) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of '' M. Butterfly''. He ga ...

as Lee / N'Cream * Christopher Logan as Brian / Patty Melt * Robert Kaiser as Paul *

Ian Gomez Ian Braque Gomez (born December 27, 1964) is an American actor known for his comedic TV work, which include series-regular roles as Javier on '' Felicity'' and Andy on ''Cougar Town''. Early life He was born in New York City, New York, to an ar ...

as Stanley, the club owner *

Robert John Burke Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his roles in '' RoboCop 3'' (1993), '' Tombstone'' (1993), and '' Thinner'' (1996). During the 2000s Burke became well known for his portrayal of Mickey Gavin on '' Rescue ...

as Rudy, the sadistic crime boss * Boris McGiver as Tibor, Rudy's gullible henchman *

Nick Sandow Nick Sandow (born August 3, 1966) is an American actor, writer, producer and director, best known for his role as Joe Caputo in ''Orange Is the New Black''. Early life Of Italian descent, Sandow grew up in the Italian neighborhood of Van Nest ...

as Al, Connie's on-again-off-again-right-now-off boyfriend *

Dash Mihok Dashiell Raymond Mihok (; born May 24, 1974) is an American actor and director best known for playing Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in the Showtime drama '' Ray Donovan''. Early life Mihok was born in New York City, the son of theater actors Andrea ...

as Mikey, Carla's boyfriend *

Chelah Horsdal Chelah Horsdal (born June 19, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her regular roles in the television series ''Hell on Wheels'', ''When Calls the Heart'', and ''The Man in the High Castle'', recurring roles on ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Lev ...

as the Botoxed Friend * Debbie Reynolds as herself *

Greg Grunberg Gregory Phillip Grunberg (born July 11, 1966) is an American film and television actor best known for starring as Eric Weiss in the ABC series ''Alias'', Matt Parkman in the NBC series ''Heroes'', Temmin "Snap" Wexley in '' Star Wars: The Force ...

as Studio tour guide *

Veena Sood Veena Sood (born 21 November), is a Canadian actress. Sood is best known for dramatic and comedic roles in a career spanning more than 3 decades. Early life and education She was born on 21 November in Nairobi, Kenya. Her father was a doctor a ...

as Mrs. Morse

Musicals referenced or featured

The following is a list of musicals referenced or featured in the film (in the order of which they are presented in the film):

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

and Debbie Reynolds were mentioned several times before Reynolds herself appeared and performed with Connie and Carla. * ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'' – Connie and Carla perform "

" as young girls in their school lunchroom and in the airport lounge and " I Cain't Say No" during their audition at "The Handlebar," the gay club where they eventually become successful. * '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' – Connie and Carla perform "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

" in the airport lounge and "Everything's Alright" during their first performance at The Handlebar. * '' Yentl'' – Connie and Carla perform "

Papa, Can You Hear Me? "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" is a 1983 song composed by Michel Legrand with lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, for Barbra Streisand in the title role of '' Yentl''. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 56th Academy Awards ...

" in the airport lounge. * '' Cats'' – Connie and Carla perform "

Memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...

" in the airport lounge. * ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

'' – Peaches 'n' Creme perform " The Time Warp" at The Handlebar. * ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'' – Connie and Carla perform "Maybe This Time" at their audition at The Handlebar. * ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

'' – Connie and Carla perform "

Don't Cry for Me Argentina "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" is a song recorded by Julie Covington for the 1976 concept album '' Evita'', later included in the 1978 musical of the same name. The song was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they wer ...

" at their audition at The Handlebar. * ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...

'' – Interludes during the picture with the character Tibor seeing several performances of ''Mame'' at different venues across the country. * '' South Pacific'' – "

I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" is a song from the musical ''South Pacific'', sung by Nellie Forbush, the female lead, originally played by Mary Martin in the 1949 Broadway production. Her character, fed up with a man (Emile De Becque) ...

", is 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 "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" (for 4 part male voices, 2 tenors and 2 basses) is one of the songs from the 1949 musical '' South Pacific''. The song was written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is widely popular in the ...

" 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 "Don't Rain on My Parade" is a popular song from the 1964 musical '' Funny Girl''. It was also featured in the 1968 movie version of the musical. The song was written by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne. Both the movie and stage versions feature Barbra ...

", part of their performance in ''What a Drag (Pun Intended!)'' at The Handlebar. * ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical- romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve you ...

'', '' The Producers'', ''

Say Goodnight, Gracie ''Say Goodnight, Gracie'' is a one-man play by Rupert Holmes. Adapted from the reminiscences of George Burns, the multimedia presentation traces the comedian-raconteur's life from his childhood on the Lower East Side, Manhattan, Lower East Sid ...

'', ''

Never Gonna Dance ''Never Gonna Dance'' is a Broadway musical featuring the music of Jerome Kern. The musical was based on the 1936 Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film '' Swing Time''. Lyricists include Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, P. G. Wodehouse, Bernard Dougal ...

'', ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'', ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'', '' Mamma Mia!'', '' Long Days Journey into Night'', '' "Master Harold"...and the Boys'', '' Avenue Q'', '' Man of La Mancha'', and ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' – Billboards for these shows are shown. * ''Gypsy'', ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', and ''Hairspray'' – At this point in the film, these are mentioned by Tibor, ''Hairspray'', of which, he got a matinée ticket, though no songs from the shows are sung. The theater productions of ''

'', ''

'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' became semi-successful movie musicals shortly after this film. * ''

'' – " Let Me Entertain You" is performed by Connie, Carla, and the Belles of the Balls. * '' Hair'' – Connie says the guys should enter from the back of the house on "

Good Morning Starshine "Good Morning Starshine" is a pop song from the musical '' Hair'' (1967). It was a No. 3 hit in the United States in July 1969 and a No. 6 hit in the United Kingdom in October 1969 for the singer Oliver. The chorus makes extensive use of appar ...

". * ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'' – Debbie Reynolds says they should enter from the back of the house on " Seventy-Six Trombones". * '' Grease'' – Debbie Reynolds, Connie, Carla, and the Belles of the Balls sing "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". * ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'' – Connie and Carla sing "What I Did for Love". * ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'' – Connie mentions "the ''Guys and Dolls'' tribute."

Reception

Box office

The film had a budget of $27 million, and grossed $8,085,771 domestically, and $3,255,245 in foreign release, making $11,341,016 worldwide. The film grossed $3,254,940 during its opening weekend, opening at number 13 in the 4/16-18 weekend box office.''Connie and Carla''Box Office Mojo

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...

The film has been released on DVD and incorrectly has the runtime at 1 hour, 48 minutes.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film a 44% critic score based on reviews from 122 critics. The site's consensus states: "The two female leads, as well as energitic musical numbers, enliven an otherwise silly reworking of Billy Wilder's ''Some Like It Hot''."

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Connie And Carla 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s crime comedy films 2000s female buddy films 2000s English-language films 2004 comedy films 2004 films 2004 LGBT-related films American buddy comedy films American crime comedy films American female buddy films American LGBT-related films Cross-dressing in American films Drag (clothing)-related films Fictional couples Films directed by Michael Lembeck Films produced by Roger Birnbaum Films produced by Tom Hanks Films scored by Randy Edelman Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Chicago Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Vancouver Films with screenplays by Nia Vardalos LGBT-related buddy comedy films Mafia comedy films Spyglass Entertainment films Transgender-related films Universal Pictures films 2000s American films

Plot

Cast

Musicals referenced or featured

Reception

Box office

Critical response

See also

References

External links