OxfordPress.com

Grade: B+

Verdict: YouÕll have a gay olÕ time, no matter what your gender preference.

From Nia Vardalos, creator and star of the phenomenally successful "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," comes the uproarious "Connie and Carla," which easily could be subtitled, "My Big Fat Drag Queen Comedy."

Vardalos and co-star Toni Collette play Connie and Carla, two game but struggling singers whose big gig is a lounge at ChicagoÕs O'Hare Airport. They sandwich corny show tunes in between announcements for "United Airlines Flight 63 for Dallas, now boarding."

Their private lives are as much of a dead end as their jobs. Until, that is, one night when Connie and Carla accidentally witness a mob hit. Not happy with the idea of being whacked, they flee to L.A., where they find the perfect disguise: drag queens performing at a local gay bar.

No one, not even their gay best pals, knows their true gender. Which is great if you're hiding from gangsters, but not so great if, as Connie has, you fall for a nice straight guy named Jeff (David Duchovny), who thinks you're a man. Sort of not-quite-queer eye for the straight guy.

The movie takes a little from a lot of sources: the mob hit/run for their lives from "Some Like It Hot;" the girls pretending to be guys pretending to be girls from "Victor, Victoria;" even the lunk-headed boyfriends from "Laverne and Shirley." Yet "Connie and Carla" manages to be very much its own movie. The first half hour or so contains some of the funniest material so far this year.

Vardalos wrote the script and co-produced with Rita Wilson (Mrs. Tom Hanks, who also produced "Greek Wedding"). This is very much her project and the surprise is she's a lot more savvy and outrageous than her previous hit would indicate.

She's a better actor, too. More precise and self-confident, Vardalos not only reveals a huge singing voice, she's an adept comedian as well.

But then she has to be, having made the bold and generous choice to pair herself with Collette, who thus far hasn't found a role she couldn't play. From her hapless and slightly daft romantic in "Muriel's Wedding" to the struggling single mom in "About a Boy" to Haley Joel Osment's worried mother in "The Sixth Sense," Collette has found both the humor and the heart in a wide range of characters. Here, she reminds us that dumb-blonde is more a state of mind than a hair color. And she can sing, too.

In its last third, "Connie and Carla" swaps its sassy swish for some sincere statements about prejudice and being gay. The message is valid, even more so today when tolerance for gays is getting some weird vibes on both the political and religious fronts. But sincerity and validity don't necessarily add up to smart and entertaining. By the time Debbie Reynolds makes her gay-icon appearance, the movie has lost some of its finesse and momentum.

Still, by then "Carla and Connie" has already earned a backlog of good will and laughter. When the stars launch into "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and the club's entire audience rises as one to share the pain and glamour, you almost want to get out of your seat, too.