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Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.|ret||ret||tab|

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Hollywood, the "industry," has always been about glamour. But really, there have been as many fine actors and actresses who also happened to be beautiful as there have been stars (male and female) who obviously got where they did simply because of their looks. Audrey Hepburn was stunning and also a great performer. The same goes for Cary Grant, Nicole Kidman, Juliette Binoche, Brad Pitt, Robert Redford and Paul Newman. So, being beautiful doesn't automatically disqualify one from being talented. |ret||ret||tab|

However, when it comes to the flip side of that coin being "ordinary" looking or just plain "homely" things can be a bit rough. |ret||ret||tab|

While many men have bucked the tradition Robert DeNiro is not exactly a classically handsome sort, nor is James Gandolfini or Gene Hackman women seem to have a harder time.|ret||ret||tab|

Two of my favorite actresses who are not considered glamorous by Hollywood standards have teamed up for the film "Connie and Carla," which is somewhat less than the sum of its parts but worth seeing for the sheer joy the actresses have for their characters.|ret||ret||tab|

Carla is played by Toni Collette, who first came to attention in "Muriel's Wedding," one of the finest romantic comedies of the 1990s. She's also been in a few other high-profile films like the remake of "Shaft," "The Sixth Sense" and "The Hours," but never seems to get as big a role as she deserves. If you haven't seen "Muriel's Wedding," go get it at the video outlet right now. Unless you only like violent, action-oriented films, I can't think you would not enjoy "Muriel's Wedding." It's a film I can watch with my 84-year-old mom or my 21-year-old niece, and everyone in between. |ret||ret||tab|

Connie is played by Nia Vardalos, who also wrote the screenplay. Vardalos has one of the best "dreams come true" to ever have taken place in moviedom. She was a standup comic who turned a routine about her family into a one-woman show that later became the low-budget film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The budget for the film was about $5 million, and in theatrical grosses (before hitting the home video market), it took in nearly $230 million, making it the highest-grossing independent film of all time, as well as the top-earning romantic comedy. And deservedly so. It's a film that, like life, is full of heartache, joy and weird members of your family.|ret||ret||tab|

With that kind of record to live up to, it's no wonder that Vardalos hit a "sophomore slump" with her second film. But "Connie and Carla," while no "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," is a fine film and, as with her previous work, Vardalos has developed a fun, funny and inventive screenplay. I was somewhat wary of her choice of directors Michael Lembeck who directed the universally despised "The Santa Clause 2" but he's managed to do a credible job here. My belief (and hope) is that at some point Vardalos will start directing her own films.|ret||ret||tab|

Connie and Carla are childhood friends who have grown up performing "musical acts" together. You know, show tunes from "Oklahoma!," "Cabaret," et al.|ret||ret||tab|

They have the very unfortunate circumstance of borrowing money from a mobster and then witnessing the murder of two people who have crossed him. They also, inadvertently, wind up with a kilo of the boss's cocaine.|ret||ret||tab|

Needless to say, they go on the lam. |ret||ret||tab|

They're smart enough to know that the boss man will be looking for them in dinner theaters in places like St. Louis, Kansas City and Des Moines, so they change their method of operation. |ret||ret||tab|

They go to Los Angeles and get jobs as female impersonators at a drag bar.|ret||ret||tab|

The storyline isn't entirely new and has a basis in "Victor, Victoria," wherein Julie Andrews whose character was a woman played a man impersonating a woman in a drag joint. The obvious main influence is Billy Wilder's "Some Like it Hot," where Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon pose as women after witnessing a gangland slaying.|ret||ret||tab|

So she shows her influences. So do Tarantino, Scorsese and many other great filmmakers. And Vardalos has a perfect "buddy" in the form of Collette. The two were made to be partners, and I'm already looking forward to their next pairing.|ret||ret||tab|

A subplot concerns Jeff, played by David Duchovny, whose brother is an actual drag queen performing at the bar where Connie and Carla work. Connie falls for him, but since he's under the impression Connie is really a man, he has, to say the least, mixed emotions.|ret||ret||tab|

And then Debbie Reynolds shows up for an over-the-top scene.|ret||ret||tab|

If you liked "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," or gender-bending comedies like "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," you will get a kick out of "Connie and Carla." |ret||ret||tab|

Vardalos is a great writer and has an acute acumen for what plays well to the general public, even if it's a bit offbeat. Hats (and as in one scene, bras) off to her.|ret||ret||tab|

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