It's like riding a psychotic horse toward a burning stable (The Birdcage (DVD))

Member Name: P1RAN

Product:	The Birdcage (DVD)
Date:	09/08/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nathan Lane is superbly over the top.

Disadvantages: Robin Williams is the straight man.

A film in which Robin Williams is truly at his funniest, The Birdcage is a brilliant film which takes the classic story and turns into a fast paced superbly cast comedy. An all star cast includes Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Diane West, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockheart, Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski. With brilliant performances all round and an especially enjoyable performance from Gene Hackman as we see that he can take lines to make the audience as well as making himself physically hilarious by dressing up as a women.

Armand, an owner of a Miami Beach nightclub, lives with his partner Albert who's also the star attraction of the nightclub. Armand's son Val comes to visit to announce that he's getting married to the daughter of Senator Kevin Keeley, an ultra conservative, who's already facing problems when his closest political ally is caught in bed with an underage prostitute. Senator Keeley sees his daughter's marriage as an opportunity to restore his political reputation, however when the two families finally meet, hilarity ensues.

Though Robin Williams is funny as hell in this film his role is as the straight man. He gets all the best lines such as "So this is Hell. And there's a crucifix in it. " delivered with a superb dry wit but it's Nathan Lane that gets the laughs from the whole audience, with his feminine shrieks and just the way he can act so superbly camp makes every scene more brilliant. Nathan Lane's best scenes come when he attempts to act it straight and fails miserably, he then gives in and just dresses up as a women, you have to watch to see how beautifully it fits in.

No special features to speak of, just the theatrical trailer and interactive menus. It's possible to watch the film in English, German, French, Italian or Spanish, with optional subtitles in English, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. Subtitles are also available for the hard of hearing in English or German.

A film with a serious actor suddenly thrown into a manic script with professional comic actors is usually brilliant and this is no exception, De Niro and Hackman have proved themselves worthy of comic roles, not just worthy but truly bring a new edge to where the laughs of a film come from, is it funnier to see Nathan Lane dressed as a woman or Gene Hackman? This film certainly answers that question. With an absolutely stunning cast of recognizable faces and barrels full of laughs, this movie does justice to the original stage play.

Summary: If you enjoy comedy with men dressed as women, this is a must see.