The Birdcage
A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's conservative parents.
What critics thought
Mike Nichols's remake of La Cage aux Folles landed as a broadly enjoyable crowd-pleaser, with most critics crediting Elaine May's screenplay and the central performances for elevating familiar material. The film's political undercurrent — the conservative senator undone by his own hypocrisy while the 'nontraditional' family proves the more stable one — drew particular notice, though a few felt the comedy stayed closer to mainstream comfort than genuine subversion.
“what makes Mike Nichols'[s] version more than just a retread is good casting in the key roles, and a wicked screenplay by Elaine May, who keeps the original story but adds little zingers here and there”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Just as in their routines when they were a team in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Nichols and May are at their best with political and cultural humor. A reactionary politician is an easy target, of course, but the digs at Hackman's public image-obsessed senator are relentlessly clever and on the mark, as are the jibes at unscrupulous journalists.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“...this is one of his most cohesive and least antic performances. It's also a mischievously funny one: He does a fine job of integrating gag lines with semi-serious acting...”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“The film is so boisterously entertaining that it's easy for the unsuspecting viewer not to realize that there's a message here.”
James Berardinelli·ReelViews
“Taking on the conservative agenda—more prevalent in our culture today than when the original film came out in 1979—The Birdcage goes beyond mere politics.”
Lance Loud·The Advocate
Accolades
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Cast & Crew
Mike NicholsDirector
Robin WilliamsArmand Goldman
Gene HackmanSenator Kevin Keeley
Nathan LaneAlbert
Dianne WiestLouise Keeley
Dan FuttermanVal Goldman
Calista FlockhartBarbara Keeley
Hank AzariaAgador
Christine BaranskiKatharine Archer
Tom McGowanHarry Radman
Grant HeslovPhotographer - National Enquirer
Kirby MitchellChauffeur
Jonathan TunickComposer
Elaine MayWriter
Emmanuel LubezkiCinematographyThe Birdcage
A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's conservative parents.
What critics thought
Mike Nichols's remake of La Cage aux Folles landed as a broadly enjoyable crowd-pleaser, with most critics crediting Elaine May's screenplay and the central performances for elevating familiar material. The film's political undercurrent — the conservative senator undone by his own hypocrisy while the 'nontraditional' family proves the more stable one — drew particular notice, though a few felt the comedy stayed closer to mainstream comfort than genuine subversion.
“what makes Mike Nichols'[s] version more than just a retread is good casting in the key roles, and a wicked screenplay by Elaine May, who keeps the original story but adds little zingers here and there”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Just as in their routines when they were a team in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Nichols and May are at their best with political and cultural humor. A reactionary politician is an easy target, of course, but the digs at Hackman's public image-obsessed senator are relentlessly clever and on the mark, as are the jibes at unscrupulous journalists.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
“...this is one of his most cohesive and least antic performances. It's also a mischievously funny one: He does a fine job of integrating gag lines with semi-serious acting...”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“The film is so boisterously entertaining that it's easy for the unsuspecting viewer not to realize that there's a message here.”
James Berardinelli·ReelViews
“Taking on the conservative agenda—more prevalent in our culture today than when the original film came out in 1979—The Birdcage goes beyond mere politics.”
Lance Loud·The Advocate
Accolades
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Cast & Crew
Mike NicholsDirectorRobin WilliamsArmand GoldmanGene HackmanSenator Kevin KeeleyNathan LaneAlbertDianne WiestLouise KeeleyDan FuttermanVal GoldmanCalista FlockhartBarbara KeeleyHank AzariaAgadorChristine BaranskiKatharine ArcherTom McGowanHarry RadmanGrant HeslovPhotographer - National EnquirerKirby MitchellChauffeurJonathan TunickComposerElaine MayWriterEmmanuel LubezkiCinematography