good fun (The Birdcage (DVD))

Member Name: manosst

Product:	The Birdcage (DVD)
Date:	11/07/01 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great performances, good story

Disadvantages: the french original has a different "charm"

"The Birdcage" is a fantastic film full of wonderful comic moments that cause a person to burst out in hysterical laughter. The plot of two gay men trying to put on false heirs in order to impress their son's fiance's father and mother is written well and acted to, what I believe, to be comic perfection. Robin Williams is incredibly subdued in his role as Armand, playing the straight man to Nathan Lane during most of the movie. Nathan Lane is a bit too manic, but, nevertheless, manages to pull most of the laughs as a feminine drag queen. Gene Hackman is wonderfully blubbering in his role as a senator, Dianne Weist is charming as an oppressed housewife to the senator, and Hank Azaria STEALS the show as a gay butler trying to play it straight by doing a "Sparticus" impression.

Now, the film has gotten a lot of slack because it can't compete with it's original, French version "La Cage Aux Folles." This is true that "La Cage..." is the funnier of the two, but it doesn't detract from "The Birdcage" at all. Plus, an English version of "La Cage..." is so much funnier than a version in French with subtitles. In general, "The Birdcage" is a wonderful film that commands viewings again and again.

Summary: