THE BIRDCAGE
A film review by Philip Lam
Copyright 1996 Philip Lam
Directed by: Mike Nichols Written by: Elaine May Cast : Robin Williams (Armand Goldman), Gene Hackman (Senator Kevin Keeley), Nathan Lane (Albert Goldman/ Starina), Dianne Wiest (Louise Keeley), Dan Futterman (Val Goldman), Calista Flockhart (Barbara Keeley), Hank Azaria (Agador), Christine Baranski (K atherine) Produced by : MGM/UA / Mgm/ua Distribution Co. (distributor) / United Artists Rating : *** out of *****
DON'T WATCH THIS BIRDIE
The problem with watching a movie where well-known actors appear in drag is that invariably the movie just becomes a vehicle for said actors trying to stretch the comic buck of the dressing-up thing for as much as they can. Remember TO WONG FOO, THANKS FO R EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR? Acting, even by Hollywood standards, is at a serious premium here at BIRDCAGE.
But then again, that's obviously not the reason why one would go to watch this movie. It's a comedy, or at least that's what it's billed as. Adapted from the french movie LA CAGE AUX FOLLES or "The Cage of Madmen," this movie doesn't live up to the origin al. Isn't it funny how so many good movies from France lose something when they get Hollywoodised? (A little qualifier would be THE ASSASSIN, but that's only because they copied the whole movie line for line, and Brigette Fonda is kinda cute). Clearly the french title loses something with my translation and the Hollywood version actually sounds nicer, but hey, I could just be a poor translator.
The story revolves around the lives of two families, the Goldmans and the Keeleys. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane play Armand and Albert Goldman, owners of the eponymous Birdcage, a drag nightclub, while Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest are Senator and Mrs Keeley, believers in the sort of conservatism that would have made them burn the Puritans at the stake for Caligari-like decadence.
The two families collide when their children Val and Barbara decide to get married. Barbara needs to convince her Senator Dad that the marriage is the right thing despite the fact that she's only 18. He is initially reluctant as he's too busy planning his re-election. Circumstances change and he's led to believe that the only way to salvage his political career is to be seen doing something with a "feel-good" factor, and there's hardly anything more likely to tug the heartstrings of the public than a good 'ol-fashioned wedding. Val panics and enlists the help of his dads in an attempt to make them look like a normal family for one day as the Keeleys come to visit.
What results is embarassingly obvious and really, the audience just laughs because it feels obliged to. Nothing original happens in this movie and Robin Williams shows once again that he's a cotton candy actor: any good feelings about him disappear strai ght after walking under the exit sign. What's worse in this movie is that he's abysmally insipid throughout. He's an actor who's realized that him trying to act really isn't all that commercially viable (be honest: anyone could have done DEAD POETS' SOCIE TY; and THE FISHER KING, who understood that??). Reversion back to Mork-mode was inevitable. Doing that properly may have at least salvaged something of this mess. He's so boring in this movie that he actually makes Nathan Lane look good. Yeah sure, you'v e probably seen the shots of the movie and heard the touting of Nathan Lane stealing the show. Well, it isn't so much a case of him stealing the show as everyone else throwing it at him. His drag impersonation is laboured and definitely gets on the nerves quickly. That scene with Williams trying to teach Lane "How To Be a Man" was definitely a 10 on the cheesy scale.
That's not all. Like father like son and here, Val (Dan Futterman) feels some genetic need to emulate Williams' perfomance. He maintains this unfazable look through all the tribulations his character is supposed to be going through. Anyone else would have done a decent portrayal of a young man whose life is about to come apart. This is obviously below Val and one suspects that he's incapable of doing anything but look cool. He certainly looks like he'll be more comfortable in a "Top Gun" sort of movie tha n a funny-farm drag misadventure.
Scraping the bottom of the barrel, we get a couple of plus points. You get a little look at Miami's South Beach where the film is set and we get to see Gene Hackman's finest hour in the last minute of the movie. Be warned though: Don't watch this movie un less you're prepared to not think about it ever after. It's the stuff nightmares are made of.
REVIEW's rating system: * Wait for the video. ** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha! *** Pretty good, bring a friend. **** Amazing, potent stuff. ***** Perfection. See it twice.
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