Chris: Nia Vardalos’s new comedy calls to mind something of a mix of We’re No Angels combined with a small dash of Just One of the Guys. (I wanted to use something other than Some like it hot and Victor/Victoria) Featuring a female duo of talent show rejects hiding from the mob by posing as drag queens instead of escaped convicts hiding from the law as priests, this film seems almost predestined to wallow in routine fish out of water clichés, or at best further contribute to post 80’s slump of inane gross out comedy. Luckily under Vardalos’ pen and Michael Lembeck’s direction, what may have been the ultimate trashy idea is fresh, funny, and surprisingly intelligent in execution.

In this tale, Connie and Carla are two vaudeville entertainers for the airport diner dive circuit. Performing the same song and dance routine they’ve used since elementary school, they find their act unpopular even with the midday drunks. When the duo accidentally witness the murder of their mobster friend and moneylender, the two hotfoot it to the one place they can hide “with no dinner theater, and no culture whatsoever,” Los Angeles. After failed attempts with a few odd jobs, the two unwittingly end up at the local gay bar. As luck would have it, the bar is in need of a designated act, so the two girls audition, doing their best to pose as men…posing as women. Naturally, the two get the job, and turn the ailing gay cabaret into the number one LA hotspot. But with their newfound celebrity and Connie’s crush on a straight man, it’s only a matter of time before someone gets wise to their gender bending ruse, and the mafia thugs track them down.

Vardalos and Collette are amazing, bringing twice the requisite warmth and wit their two characters need. The film’s messages of acceptance, understanding, and believing in your self transcend the usual heavy handed, after-school-special-type morality lessons so often found in films these days. Finally, the films treatment of gays as real people with real concerns rather than hyperactive eclectic hairdressers whose sole mission in life is to makeover straight men is a wonderfully welcome addition.

In short, Vardalos has probably got another sleeper hit on her hands with this one. If you see only one gender-bending comedy this year, this one should be it.

Kris: I agree. There’s just enough spice shown to edify its points and then it moves on. For example, quick messages about Botox and body consciousness are examined in a direct soliloquy, like a stand-up comedian.

Solid repartee from Toni Collette who, let’s face it, never disappoints, whether she’s portraying the topless wench in Peter Greenaway’s 8 ½ women or the suicidal “yeti” in About a Boy. Here she plays the naïve follower, shifting easily from bouts of anxiety to explosive joy. David Duchovny proves himself as the coveted straight guy, although I remember he dolled it up for Lynch’s Twin Peaks (TV), so his confusion and minor quibbles with discovering his brother’s identity is all an act. If you can believe it, he’s a much better actor than when he first started out, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy all of his subtle stoic twitches and drunken slurs. Bit part by Alec Mapa, who was in a slew of television roles, and, although not listed in imdb, I’m sure was the “more turkey Meester Chand-a-ler” guy from Friends.

The musical score shouts obviousness, with the ubiquitous violin swells and clarinet solos, shifting the audience into “happy” or “sad”. But that’s what this movie is about. It’s not focusing on the grey areas of life; the in-between areas that we don’t allow the rest of the world to see. This movie instills that you are in control of your own comfort level and self esteem. Nia Vardalos wrote her character to say, “I want to be happy” and to repeat twice: “You only live once”, so live it up.

--Chris Nelson
--Kris Kobayashi