Perfect cast and a good story

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The Birdcage (1996): Dir: Mike Nichols / Cast: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Diane Wiest, Christine Baranski: One of the best remakes ever made and it pretty much matches the French classic La Cage Aux Folles scene for scene and word for word. Title suggest hidden traits or closet homosexual. The cage is the closet while homosexuals represent the birds. Robin Williams runs a nightclub where drag queens entertain including the much adored Nathan Lane. Williams's son is engaged to the Senator's daughter and he is requested to change his lifestyle so that the Senator will not suspect it. Reluctantly Williams agrees but when Lane refuses to take a vacation he experiments with the idea of going straight, which leads to hilarious moments. Fine directing by Mike Nichols who has toyed before with secret lifestyles in films such as The Graduate and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Williams is flawless as the club manager out to please his son, while Lane is hilarious as a fragile drag queen. Gene Hackman and Diane Wiest make great foils as the Senator and wife who dodge media yet accept this couple as legitimate. How a crucial issue is solved makes the film's concluding joke a huge payoff. Christine Baranski plays Williams's supportive ex-wife who is unable to be at a crucial place at the right time. Theme regards secret lives that risk exposure. Score: 8 / 10

Entertaining...in spells. Also quite silly and/or dull in spells.Had the potential to be a very good comedy, as well as comment on bigotry and homophobia. In the end is a decent, but not great comedy. Some of the dialogue is very funny, but the movie often teeters on the edge of descending into pointless farce. Some of the gags and sub- plots go nowhere.While taking a small stab at right-wing conservatism, the movie isn't that profound in terms of dealing with homophobia. Admittedly it is a comedy, not a drama, but the set-up was already there.Good performances by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in the lead roles. Good support from Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Hank Azaria, Calista Flockhart, Dan Flutterman and Christine Baranski.

Many years ago I watched LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, which this film is based on, and incidentally was one of the first foreign language films I ever saw. From what I remember, it was a laugh-riot from beginning to end, and was very economical at 96 minutes. THE BIRDCAGE, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and Gene Hackman, tells essentially the same story but with an American bent. While I can respect the changes that were made, at about 25 minutes longer things could have been more streamlined than they were. Here, Robin Williams plays a more subtle comedic character as Armand, the owner of the titular Birdcage, a drag club where his partner Albert (Nathan Lane) is the star performer. When his son Val comes home for a visit, he tells his father that he is getting married, but to the daughter of a conservative Senator. The comedy of errors that ensues has to be seen to be believed, and in my mind was as funny as the original. Robin Williams was very effective in playing the "straight" man to Nathan Lane's hysterical queen, and both played off of each other very well. Gene Hackman was also pretty hilarious as a stereotypically backwards-minded right-winger. Overall, while a remake of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES might not have been necessary, THE BIRDCAGE is pretty funny, if a little long-winded in parts. It has a great cast who all perform very well together, with special mention going to Hank Azaria as Armand and Albert's butler Agador. It also had a fine soundtrack as well. Bottom line: Robin Williams fans should enjoy this, as long as the satirical jabs at Republicans don't offend them, and fans of the French original should find plenty to like here as well.

My wife rented this movie for our anniversary. I was unhappy; why would she rent a movie about gay men on such an occasion? She only said she heard it was a good movie.However comedy is fickle; a person's mood can have a strong influence on whether they enjoy a comedy, and I was not starting the movie with a good mood.By the end, I loved it! It was not only humorous, but it portrayed the gay men in a realistic manner: men who have a great capacity for love, yet are victims of prejudice.You have to respect Robin Williams for playing this role, especially in the era this was made. He risked his career by taking on a role many Americans would object to, as this film was made well before the time when the majority of Americans decided that prejudice against gays and lesbians is wrong.The film does struggle with stereotypes, but overall, great acting and writing make it a gem of a film.