The Birdcage (1996)
Directed by Mike Nichols
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.
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What critics say influenced The Birdcage
When Mike Nichols ("The Graduate" and "Heartburn") saw the original French film of Jean Poiret's popular play "La Cage aux Folles," he immediately wanted to direct an American version with a script by his former comedy partner, Elaine May.
In this American remake of "La Cage Aux Folles," the French play that became a French movie that became an American musical, Lane plays Albert, the drag queen who has lived for 20 years with Armand (Williams), the somewhat less swishy owner of The Birdcage, the nightclub in which Albert performs as the inimitable Starina.
"The Birdcage," starring Robin Williams as a gay father who tries to play it straight for his son's future in-laws, is a very careful remake of "La Cage Aux Folles," a 1978 French film based on the famous stage play of the same name.
“The Birdcage” is a remake of the 1978 farce “La Cage aux Folles,” which itself was based on a 1973 French play by the same name.
One swell reason for seeing this fresh Americanized remake of La cage aux folles—the French farce about a middle-aged gay couple—is its hilarious depiction of Pat Buchanan as played by Gene Hackman, which implies, among other things, that only a drag queen could adequately fulfill Buchanan's vision of ideal womanhood.
When Mike Nichols ("The Graduate" and "Heartburn") saw the original French film of Jean Poiret's popular play "La Cage aux Folles," he immediately wanted to direct an American version with a script by his former comedy partner, Elaine May.
I've loved many Nichols movies, including "The Graduate," "Heartburn," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "Silkwood" and "Working Girl," but he's had his share of misfires, among them "The Fortune" and "Catch-22."
But it was a non-issue for Mike Nichols (“The Graduate”) once he cast Williams in “The Birdcage” opposite someone even more flamboyant (Nathan Lane) and surrounded him with a cast of equally over-the-top characters.
I've loved many Nichols movies, including "The Graduate," "Heartburn," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "Silkwood" and "Working Girl," but he's had his share of misfires, among them "The Fortune" and "Catch-22."
When Mike Nichols ("The Graduate" and "Heartburn") saw the original French film of Jean Poiret's popular play "La Cage aux Folles," he immediately wanted to direct an American version with a script by his former comedy partner, Elaine May.
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I've loved many Nichols movies, including "The Graduate," "Heartburn," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "Silkwood" and "Working Girl," but he's had his share of misfires, among them "The Fortune" and "Catch-22."