VHS : Birdcage [1996]

Rating: - Best Comedy Ever Made!
Where to start in reviewing this truly fabulous film? A clever plot, a script full of laughs (with the odd poignant moment thrown in), and a top notch cast, this movie has it all. Robin Williams is a revelation as the gay nightclub owner and Nathan Lane is at his outrageously camp best as his partner - and frighteningly convincing in drag too! Gene Hackman delivers a terrific performance as the ultra Conservative senator a wonderful double act with his wife played by the superb Dianne Wiest. Look out for a young Calista Flockhart as their daughter, in her pre Ali MacBeal days. Hank Azaria is hilarious as the over the top manservant - and later, disastrous butler. The embarrassment factor is high and you'll be watching through your hands as the story reaches its diabolical climax. A real feelgood movie, perfect to watch with friends and alcohol, sure to become one of the favourites in your collection. If you haven't yet seen this movie, you've a treat in store!

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Rating: - very original, best comedy in ages

My father in law lent me this film a few days ago and I really enjoyed it.

I was told people are often disappointed with 'The Birdcage' as they watch it expecting Robin William's usual brand of brash, slapstick comedy (the description of the film alone makes you suspect this) but in fact it is not that kind of comedy at all. It's clever, subtle and really really funny. Don't get me wrong, not all the humour is subtle, there are some genuinely hilarious moments that anyone will appreciate (such as the pool cleaner performing his menial tasks wearing very revealing brightly coloured speedos) but to really enjoy the film just sit down and watch it as if you have never heard of Robin Williams before and you will be pleasantly surprised.

The story itself is more than just a comedy, it covers sensitive issues such as homophobia, love and the importance of honesty and being yourself as well as a show-stealing turn from Nathan Lane as the neurotic, cross-dressing life-partner of Robin William's charcater 'Armand' Gene Hackman is brilliantly cast as a conservative polititian more concerned with how voters perceive him than his daughters happiness.

A brilliant film, you won't regret watching it

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Rating: - How can anyone not fine this funny!
Robin Williams is an amazing actor, especially when he's playing the straight man, so to speak. After watching this last night I realize that he is the god of comic timing during the time when so many comic gay films hit the scene and the "BIRDCAGE" showcases his comedic talent in a new way for most people, by constraining it. His performance and Nichols firm direction anchor what could have been nothing more than a string of clichés. Lane plays "the woman" in their relationship, giving Williams the chance to play one of few straight roles he's ever had...so to speak.

He plays Armand, a gay nightclub owner, who lives in South Beach with his "wife" Albert, played by Nathan Lane. Armand is certainly the less effeminate of the two, but no one could mistake him for a heterosexual man. They are very happy and have a fairly unexciting life - that is until Armand's son Val (he was conceived in a dalliance years before so that Armand and Albert could have a family) announces that he's engaged. The only problem is that his fiancée is the daughter of an extreme right-wing senator, played by Gene Hackman, for whom the lives of his potentially new in-laws would create quite a problem on re-election day.

As one would expect, chaos ensues when they try to convince the senator and his wife, played by Dianne Wiest, over dinner that they are a regular, happy, non-Jewish, heterosexual family. It's one close call after another mainly due to the bumbling of their houseboy Agadar Sparticus (in a brilliant comic turn by Hank Azaria). The dinner turns out to be just soup, which Spartacus serves in less than appropriate soup bowls. Albert, made-up as a woman and pretending to be Val's mother, talks the senator's ear off, telling him exactly what he wants to hear while spinning yarns about their past, neither Armand nor Val can keep up with.

The performances are dead-on funny, without ever going over the top. Williams gives one of his more subtle performances. I know he's playing gay, but he is very touching as a man who's proud of his life, but hides it and pretends to be somebody else because he loves his son. Nathan Lane is spectacular. Albert is so sweet and vulnerable; you can't help but love him. He really tries to help, though it rarely works out like he plans. Gene Hackman also stretches his comedy muscles, while taken in by Lane's cross-dressing turn. "The Birdcage" is a comedy about family, honesty and frankly, just being proud of who you are. It is worth watching for the dinner scene alone. If this film doesn't make your sides split with laughter, you don't know what funny is.

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Rating: - One of the Funniest Films Ever
This film is proof that an excelent actor doesn't have to resort to slapstick, foul language or loudmouth behavior to be funny. There is nothing to offend at all which is a mirical in itself these days.This film is a laugh from almost the first moment, I would never have envisaged any of the actors being so great at being camp or at crossdressing but they really are excellent!! I have seen this film several times and have decided to buy it as it is one of the few films I can watch again and again, if you do not own it you should!!!!!!!!

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Rating: - LIke Nine Months, less better than the French original
I think I understand why the critical review has been mediocre -- it's likely because critics keep comparing 'The Birdcage' with the original 'La Cage Aux Folles'. I wish critics would rate a movie for what it is, and not for what it compares to. 'The Birdcage' as a stand-alone movie is witty, funny, silly, and entertaining. And that's what makes it so enjoyable! It's one of my favourite comedies and I can watch it over and over again.