La Cages aux Folles (the cage of birds) is Jean Poiret play that was made into French movie of the same name in 1978. In 1996, Hollywood decided to remake the movie, titled The Birdcage starring an all star cast of Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Calista Flockhart, Dan Futterman and Hank Azaria.
The story is simple enough. A boy falls in love with a girl, a girl falls in love with a guy, and they decide to get married. And they want their families to get acquainted. Now, here comes the tricky part. The girl Barbra’s father is Senator Keeley, a severe right-wing conservative Senator who heads the "Coalition of Moral Order", an organization dedicated to restore America to family and moral values by openly criticizing gays, Jews, "demoralizing" drag-clubs etc. among other things. And Val, the boy, comes from a very stable home, consisting of the father Armand Goldman, a flashy, gay owner of drag-club in South Beach, Miami and his lead drag-queen Starina aka Albert, the very insecure yet extremely loving mother.
What follows is a series of confusion and hilarity when Val, very selfishly claims that Albert should not be present during the visit, for the fear of losing the girl, but his “real” mother should. Convincing Albert to leave is an extremely difficult task because he is determined to stay and meet the fiancée of the boy “she” helped raise and like any other wife, the fear of losing her only family to "the other woman" takes precedent over her son’s selfish demands.
What follows is a series of confusion and hilarity when Val, very selfishly claims that Albert should not be present during the visit, for the fear of losing the girl, but his “real” mother should. Convincing Albert to leave is an extremely difficult task because he is determined to stay and meet the fiancée of the boy “she” helped raise and like any other wife, the fear of losing her only family to "the other woman" takes precedent over her son’s selfish demands.
I liked all the characters. They had a weird sense of trueness unlike some movies where you can actually make out the difference between actor and character. But one thing I didn’t like, was the way Val treated Albert. Sure, Albert wasn’t his mother but he is like "a mother", and the communication gap between Albert and Val was terrible. I mean if I say something to my mom, or even insult her in fit of rage or something, I am the one who apologizes; not my dad. Also if I want my mom to do something, I tell it to her myself and not, rely on anyone else to do it, not even my dad. Agreed Val is only 20, but Barbra is 18 and she seems to have more gumption than him, like when she acknowledges that they have been sleeping together for over a year and she has been tested (for AIDS) before her conservative parents.
But one thing that stands out the most, and makes "The Birdcage" one of my favourites is the relation between Albert and Armand. Sure, Albert is whiny and insecure, but "she" is a perfect hostess in and around their club and house. The scene where Armand finally gives Albert the Palimony agreement, no doubt takes the cake. They are an Old Married Couple, together for more than 20 years behind them and have raised a "wonderful" son. So, when Armand finally gives the Palimony agreement to Albert, it's a simple ceremony, just the two of them. No fanfare, no noise - they just sit on a bench together and sign the agreement, where Armand says, "Take it! Take it all! I am fifty years old, there is only one place I call home and that's because you are there. So, what difference does it make if I say you can stay or if you say I can stay? It's ours." And they just sit there, hand-in-hand, sighing and gazing into the middle distance.
It's a great movie if you want to "return to the family values" or enjoy a good laugh on a cloudy day.
But one thing that stands out the most, and makes "The Birdcage" one of my favourites is the relation between Albert and Armand. Sure, Albert is whiny and insecure, but "she" is a perfect hostess in and around their club and house. The scene where Armand finally gives Albert the Palimony agreement, no doubt takes the cake. They are an Old Married Couple, together for more than 20 years behind them and have raised a "wonderful" son. So, when Armand finally gives the Palimony agreement to Albert, it's a simple ceremony, just the two of them. No fanfare, no noise - they just sit on a bench together and sign the agreement, where Armand says, "Take it! Take it all! I am fifty years old, there is only one place I call home and that's because you are there. So, what difference does it make if I say you can stay or if you say I can stay? It's ours." And they just sit there, hand-in-hand, sighing and gazing into the middle distance.
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| Albert and Armand Goldman |
