Connie and Carla

Its plot is Some Like It Hot meets Victor/Victoria and it's not half as clever as either, but Nia Vardalos' writing-starring follow-up to My Big Fat Greek Wedding earns some amused grins for campy show tunes and cross-dressing gags. She and Toni Collette (About a Boy) give discount-Lucille-Ball performances as corny showgirl wannabes who hide from mobsters after witnessing a murder…by dressing incognito and pretending to be men who pretend to be women, and headlining a drag-queen cabaret act in West Hollywood. But the movie's lighthearted humor is countered by its clunky script, in which Vardalos uses expository dialogue as a crutch, adds incongruous scenes to set-up 30-second payoffs later, and relies on viewers' good graces to forgive many contrivances--such as the scene in which a hostile audience is turned around in 10 seconds after one person's declarative clapping begets a rousing round of feel-good applause. The picture's best moments come from David Duchovny, who is outstanding (yet understated) as the straight man (both sexually and humorously), playing both a long-lost brother reaching out to the drag joint's bartender and Vardalos' very confused love interest. Optional. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Michael Lembeck and writer-costar Nia Vardalos, a 25-minute "making-of" featurette, eight minutes of deleted scenes with director intros, eight minutes of bonus musical scenes with intros, the seven-minute featurette “Dressing in Drag,” six minutes of outtakes, and a four-minute featurette on Debbie Reynolds and her cameo in the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so film.] (R. Blackwelder)