The Birdcage
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| The Birdcage | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
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| Directed by | Mike Nichols |
| Produced by | Mike Nichols |
| Written by | Jean Poiret (play) Elaine May |
| Starring | Robin Williams Nathan Lane Gene Hackman Dianne Wiest Dan Futterman Calista Flockhart Hank Azaria |
| Cinematography | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Distribution Co. |
| Release date(s) | March 8, 1996 |
| Running time | 117 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Birdcage is a 1996 comedy film which stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Christine Baranski and Hank Azaria. The script was by Elaine May, adapted from La Cage Aux Folles’ screenplay by Jean Poiret and Francis Veber, and the film was directed by Mike Nichols.
This film is number 99 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". Tagline: Come as you are.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Val Goldman (Futterman) and Barbara Keeley (Flockhart) are about to get married, and decide to have their families meet. Val's dad, Armand (Williams) owns The Birdcage, a South Beach drag club, with his lover Albert (Lane), who appears regularly as the drag queen Starina. Barbara's father (Hackman) is a conservative Republican US Senator (who sees Bob Dole and Billy Graham as being too liberal) up for re-election and the co-founder of the Coalition For Moral Order.
The Keeleys decide to drive down to Miami Beach, Florida to meet their future in-laws. Things begin to go awry before they even leave: Kevin Keeley's colleague, Senator Jackson, who helped found the Coalition for Moral Order, has just died in the bed of "an underage black whore" and a scandal is brewing in the media. The Keeleys see the trip as a savior for Kevin's political career: it will give them an excuse to get out of town and Barbara's marriage into this (supposedly) wholesome all-American family will give the Senator excellent PR material.
Barbara has told her parents that Armand is a cultural attache to Greece and that they divide their time between Greece and Florida; she also changes her fiance's family's last name from Goldman to Coleman to hide their Jewish background. In South Beach, Val eventually persuades his father to go along with the farce. Armand has the house redecorated in a more austere manner and begins remaking himself as an unassuming, conventional, heterosexual middle-aged American male. He gets in touch with his former heterosexual lover (and Val's biological mother) Katherine Archer (Baranski), and meets her at her office to ask her to join in the charade he's planning. Armand soon realizes that Albert's campy, effeminate mannerisms will be a dead giveaway to the true nature of the Goldman household and gently requests that he not be present for the dinner party that evening. Albert becomes offended and threatens to leave. A compromise is reached where Albert will remain and act as Val's uncle but this soon falls apart when Albert cannot effectively play up the "straight guy" masquerade. The Keeleys are en route to South Beach, trying to evade the papparazzi who are tailing their car. As the evening draws nearer, Agador (Azaria), the Goldmans' housekeeper has been made into a butler and chef for the evening, despite the fact that he cannot cook and never wears shoes.
The Keeleys arrive but Katherine ("Mrs. Coleman") is still not there - she is stuck in traffic. Everyone engages in small talk but Armand is nervous, even more so because Katherine has not arrived. Kevin and Louise (Wiest) are worried that Armand is behaving awkwardly because he has heard about the Jackson scandal and does not feel comfortable having the Keeleys in his house. Finally, Albert emerges, dressed in drag. Armand is surprised and realizes that if Katherine shows up their guise will be exposed. Meanwhile, Agador has prepared nothing for dinner but a bizarre soup containing, among other things, shrimp and hard-boiled eggs. During dinner, Louise Keeley notices that the bowls depict young boys in homoerotic poses in a classical Greek style. Armand insists that she is mistaken and promptly fills everyone's bowl with soup before Mrs. Keeley or the Senator can have another look. The primary topic of conversation is politics and Albert wins over the Senator with a very right-wing tirade on the moral collapse of American society. But Louise Keeley is still suspicious: the dinner was terrible and Armand kept leaving the table for no apparent reason. Kevin defends Mrs. Coleman, and remarks that Armand is a "pretentious European".
Katherine finally arrives and introduces herself as Mrs. Goldman. The rest of the party returns to the room and Kevin demands to know why there are two Mrs. Colemans. Val realizes that he cannot keep lying and pulls Albert's wig off, explaining to the Keeleys that Albert is the star of the drag show at The Birdcage. Kevin is taken aback when he finds out that Albert and Armand are gay - and Jewish. Louise Keeley breaks down and Kevin announces that they are leaving, and demands that Barbara come with them. However, they are unable to leave; the tabloids have finally tracked down the Keeleys and the house is surrounded by camera crews.
The Goldmans, the Keeleys, and Katherine sequester themselves in a bedroom and contemplate the best way to escape, and Val and Barbara explain why they deceived Kevin and Louise. The Keeleys end up sneaking out as the nightclub is closing - dressed as drag queens - and they leave South Beach with Katherine. The film ends with Barbara and Val getting married in an interfaith ceremony.
[edit] Trivia
- A special version censored for television broadcast uses special effects to change the thongs worn by various extras into baggier swimwear. The television version often includes some deleted and extended scenes.
- The film was originally titled Birds of a Feather.
- Albert was originally supposed to be played by Robin Williams.
[edit] Quotes
- Albert: Oh, yes. What an ugly story. Of course, we don't believe a word of it. He was obviously framed! I for one would call for an autopsy!
- Senator Keeley: That's just what Rush Limbaugh said!
- Albert: Oh?
- Armand: You're going to the cemetery with your toothbrush. How Egyptian.
- Armand: (taking a sip of coffee) Ugh. What is this, sludge?
- Agador: Yes, it's sludge. I thought it'd make a nice change from coffee.
- Armand: What are you doing, giving him drugs? What the hell are 'pirin' tablets?
- Agador: It's aspirin, with the 'a' and the 's' scraped off.
- Armand: My God, that's brilliant.
- Agador: I know.
- Albert: Whatever I am, he made me! I was adorable once. Young and full of hope... now look at me. I'm this short, fat, insecure middle-aged thing!
- Armand: I made you short?
- Albert: Either I'm an artist or I'm just a cheap drag queen playing it straight so he can get laughs.
- Armand: Let's just try and get through it.
- Albert: Oh, you always ask so much of me; I have to understand every nuance of a song, I have to give a full-out performance, but everyone else can just get through it... I mean, he's chewing gum.
- Dancer: Chewing gum helps me think.
- Albert: Sweetie, you're wasting your gum.
[edit] Mistakes
- When Armand calls Katherine, he tells her he is on his way to Miami from Miami Beach. The cruise ships in the background indicate he is actually going eastward to Miami Beach from Miami.
- When the Keeleys are driving to South Beach, the gearshift in the car is in park mode.
