The Birdcage

The Birdcage
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mike Nichols
Produced by	Mike Nichols Neil A. Machlis Marcello Danon
Screenplay by	Elaine May
Based on	La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret Francis Veber Edouard Molinaro Marcello Danon
Starring	Robin Williams Nathan Lane Gene Hackman Dianne Wiest Dan Futterman Calista Flockhart Hank Azaria Christine Baranski
Music by	Stephen Sondheim
Cinematography	Emmanuel Lubezki
Editing by	Arthur Schmidt
Studio	Nichols Film Company
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	March 8, 1996 (1996-03-08)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$185,260,553

The Birdcage is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, and stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski. The script was written by Elaine May. It is an American remake of the 1978 Franco-Italian film, La Cage aux Folles, by Jean Poiret and Francis Veber, starring Michel Serrault and Ugo Tognazzi.

Plot

Val Goldman and Barbara Keeley are engaged to be married, and wish to have their families meet. Val's father, Armand, owns The Birdcage, a South Beach drag club. His domestic partner is Albert, who appears regularly as "Starina," the show's star drag queen. Barbara's father is ultraconservative Republican Ohio Senator Kevin Keeley, who is seeking re-election as the co-founder of the "Coalition for Moral Order". Fearing their reaction if they learn the truth about Val's parents, Barbara tells her parents that Armand is a cultural attaché to Greece, that Albert is a housewife, and that they divide their time between Greece and Florida; she also changes the family's last name from Goldman to Coleman to hide their Jewish background.

Kevin receives a phone call: Senator Jackson, Kevin's colleague and co-founder of the Coalition for Moral Order, has been found dead in the bed of an underage African-American prostitute; the event receives a large amount of coverage in the media. Louise Keeley proposes a visit to meet their new in-laws as a diversion to save Kevin's political career, and Barbara's marriage into a white, "traditional, wholesome" all-American family will give the Senator excellent PR material. Barbara phones Val in South Beach about the lies she has told her parents. Val convinces Armand to go along with the farce. Armand has the house redecorated in an austere manner, and begins remaking himself as an unassuming, conventional, heterosexual American male. He contacts Val's biological mother, Katherine Archer, and she agrees to join in the charade he is planning.

Despite the changes to the house and Katherine's help, Armand realizes that Albert's outlandish, effeminate mannerisms will reveal the true nature of the Goldman household. Armand asks Albert not to be present for the dinner party that evening; Albert is offended and threatens to leave Armand. A compromise is reached where Albert will act as Val's uncle, but this soon falls apart when Albert cannot effectively pretend to be heterosexual. Another argument ensues and Albert locks himself in his bedroom.

As the evening draws nearer, Agador, the Goldman's flamboyant gay 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 at Armand's residence, but Katherine, who is to play Val's mother, ("Mrs. Coleman") is stuck in traffic. Kevin and Louise are worried that Armand's nervousness is because he has heard about the Jackson scandal and is uncomfortable having the Keeleys in his house. Suddenly, Albert emerges dressed as a middle-aged mother. Armand and Val are horrified, fearing that Katherine's arrival will destroy the illusion. Agador has prepared nothing for dinner but a bizarre soup containing shrimp and hard-boiled eggs. Despite the many challenges facing them, Armand, Val and Barbara all act the part and interact with Albert as "Mrs. Coleman".

Before dinner, Louise notices that the soup bowls depict men in homoerotic poses in a classical Greek style. Armand insists that she is mistaken and promptly fills everyone's bowl with the soup before the Keeleys can take a closer look. The primary topic of conversation is politics and, despite many potential pitfalls, Albert wins over the Senator with a very right-wing tirade on the moral collapse of American society. Louise is still suspicious: the dinner was terrible and Armand kept leaving the table. Kevin defends Albert as a true lady and remarks that Armand is just a "pretentious European". Val leaves a note for Katherine on the front door, informing her not to come inside, but two paparazzi photographers, hoping for a scoop, remove the note. Katherine arrives and introduces herself as "Mrs. Goldman". Kevin demands to know why there are two Mrs. Colemans; Val realizes that he cannot keep lying and pulls off Albert's wig, explaining to the Keeleys that while Katherine is his biological mother, Albert is his primary mother figure. Kevin and Louise are taken aback upon learning that Albert and Armand are gay Jewish nightclub owners. Louise breaks down and Kevin announces that they are leaving and demands that Barbara come with them, but the Keeleys have been followed by paparazzi and are trapped as news crews arrive.

The Goldmans, Keeleys, Katherine and Agador consider the best plan of action. Val and Barbara explain why they deceived Kevin and Louise and are forgiven, but the Keeleys fear being tangled up in a scandal if spotted in a gay nightclub. Albert choreographs the Keeleys' escape by dressing them up in drag and having them leave the club as the night's show ends. The plan works and none of the media crews recognize Kevin, Louise or Barbara. The group leaves South Beach with Katherine. Val and Barbara are married in an interfaith ceremony attended by their families.

Cast

• Robin Williams as Armand Goldman - A gay nightclub owner who tries to play it straight when his son's fiancee brings her unsuspecting parents to meet him in South Beach.
• Nathan Lane as Albert - Armand's partner who pretends to be Val's mother by dressing up as, and pretending to be, a woman when the Keeleys arrive. He stars in the nightclub's shows as the drag queen "Starina." Although a man he is Val's mother figure.
• Gene Hackman as Senator Kevin Keeley - Husband of Louise, father of Barbara, and future father-in-law to Val. He is a staunch Republican Senator with conservative social views who is running for re-election and staunchly opposes homosexuality and same-sex marriage. He co-founded the activist group. "Coalition for Moral Order," and struggles to preserve his political career after a close colleague dies while sleeping with a black underage prostitute.
• Dianne Wiest as Louise Keeley - Wife of Kevin, mother of Barbara, and future mother-in-law to Val. She is depicted as passively agreeing with her husband's extreme positions on public morality and social issues.
• Dan Futterman as Val Goldman - Son of Armand Goldman and Katie Archer. He wants to marry Barbara and has his father pretend to be straight when Barbara's parents come to meet them.
• Calista Flockhart as Barbara Keeley - Daughter of Senator Kevin and Louise Keeley, future wife of Val, and future daughter-in-law of Armand. She wants to marry Val, but when she learns that Val's father has a homosexual partner, she lies to her parents by telling them that Val's dad is an artist and his mom is a housewife.
• Hank Azaria as Agador - The Goldman's Guatemalan housekeeper. He too is flamboyantly gay, speaks with a Latin accent and a lisp, and serves as the butler for when the Keeleys come to visit. He detests wearing shoes and longs to work as a drag queen at The Birdcage.
• Christine Baranski as Katherine Archer - Val's biological mother (after having had a one night stand with Armand) and serial divorcee.
• Tom McGowan as Harry Radman.
• Grant Heslov as National Enquirer photographer.
• Kirby Mitchell as Keeley's opportunistic chauffeur.
• Jay Leno (uncredited) as Himself.
• Mike Starr (deleted scenes) as Harry.

Songs

A number of songs written by Stephen Sondheim were used in the film. The song that Albert rehearses during the sequence with the gum-chewing dancer is entitled "Little Dream", and was written specifically for use in the film. Albert's first song as "Starina" is "Can That Boy Foxtrot," cut from Sondheim's Follies. The song that Armand and Katherine sing and dance to in her office, "Love Is in the Air," was originally intended as the opening number for the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1962. The song was cut from the show and replaced with Comedy Tonight.

Reception

The Birdcage met with mixed reviews ranging from praise to condemnation in both the mainstream press and the gay press for the portrayals of its gay characters.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) praised the film for "going beyond the stereotypes to see the character's depth and humanity. The film celebrates differences and points out the outrageousness of hiding those differences."

Review aggregator Metacritic reported that the film received "generally favorable" reviews, with a score of 72% based on 18 reviews. The film currently holds a 77% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

American Film Institute recognition:

• AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs - Nominated

Box office

The Birdcage opened on March 8, 1996 and grossed $18,275,828 in its opening weekend, topping the box office. It remained at #1 for the next three weeks before being derailed by the openings of Primal Fear and A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. By the end of its 14-week run, the film had grossed $124,060,553 domestically and $61,200,000 internationally, coming down to a $185,260,553 worldwide total.

See also

• La Cage aux Folles, the original 1973 French play
• La Cage aux Folles, the original 1978 Franco-Italian film
• La Cage aux Folles, the 1983 American stage musical
• Cross-dressing in film and television
• List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-related films by storyline

External links

• The Birdcage at the Internet Movie Database
• The Birdcage at AllRovi
• The Birdcage at Box Office Mojo
• The Birdcage at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Birdcage at Metacritic