THE BIRDCAGE
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(UA)
Directed by Mike Nichols
Written by Elaine May, based on the stage play LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
by Jean Poiret and the script written by Francis Veber,
Edouard Molinaro, Marcello Danon and Jean Poiret
Cast Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest,
Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, Christine
Baranski
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for language)
Running Time 117 minutes
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC (8MAR96)
==
Though you think we'd be tired of the drag gags after TO WONG FOO, WIGSTOCK, and PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, this respectable remake of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (1978) successfully reminds us that there are few sights funnier than that of a man dressed as a woman. Here, the "woman" is Albert (Nathan Lane), a star drag queen in South Beach, FL, and the shrill half of a happy gay couple. Her longtime companion is Armand (Robin Williams), the straighter man in the relationship and the owner of the all-ages club where Albert performs. Together, they must scramble to reinvent themselves for the impending arrival of Armand's son's fiance's right-wing parents (Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest).
Despite the inclusion of several awkward, though timely, political statements-- Hackman's character is both a Republican Senator (!) and the founder of the Coalition for Moral Order (!!)-- THE BIRDCAGE is a surprisingly wholesome comedy that preaches nothing more than the virtues of acceptance. The super-swishy caricatures are probably passe, sure, but director Mike Nichols and writer Elaine May bring a sincerity to the characters that overrides any outdating. Of course, by the end, any and all messages are moot as the ensemble gets down to brass tacks.
THE BIRDCAGE is first and foremost a farce, which means that every- thing-- plot, character, etc.-- is secondary to set-up. The entire movie is spent in preparation for what befalls Armand and Albert when the In-Laws-to-be arrive. (Though the biggest laughs come at the end, there are many funny bits peppered throughout. Such as a hilarious sequence of Williams trying to teach Lane how to "act like a guy.") Though not without problems-- the poor definition of Hackman's character is a big one-- THE BIRDCAGE delivers a minor message and some major laughs, and, in a movie season as dry as this one, that's hardly a drag.
Grade: B
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
MOVIE HELL is on the Web!
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews