everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Better than most people think

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Gay couple Albin (Michael Serrault) and Renato (Ugo Tognazzi) get involved with the police and gangsters when Albin gets some stolen microfilm. They flee to Italy and try to hide out.This isn't as good as the original (which was ground breaking) but it's a hundred times better than part 3 (which was dreadful). The plot is silly but when Albin and Renato are on screen who cares? The two actors are great in their roles. There's plenty of funny sequences especially when all the policemen dress up in drag! So it's worth seeing but don't expect it to be as good as the original. BTW--ignore the R rating. It's PG-13 all the way.

When this film was released on VHS worldwide, the voices had been dubbed in English; since then, I've only found subtitled in English versions. That said, the dubbed version, for those of us not fluent in French, was absolutely excellent--hats off to the producers of such an entertaining film. We find our "heroes" all embroiled in all kinds of shenanigans, but mainly: they're in trouble with the Mob. Terrifically funny and clever, it backs off the social statement that La Cage I went to great pains to present. Cage II seems to have set social significance aside, for the most part, and then panders to the "funny bone" to get laughs, albeit good ones. Both I and II were (are) trailblazers in the gay movement around the world (well, perhaps not so much in Uganda, Nigeria, or Kenya or in some Mid-Eastern countries, alas). Cage III is something else.

I am not purposely skipped the first installment, just by coincidence, I could only found the sequel right now, soothingly enough, the omission itself does not spoil the fun of this French slapstick comedy made more than 30 years ago.How many times one could laugh out loud watching a gay/transvestite film from beginning till the very end? What's more precious is without being tainted by vulgar gags sand abominable antics (especially immune of sex-relating perversions or individual sex- orientation humiliations).Plot-wise, although devoid of certain logistics, everything serves up to the middle-age crisis in this gay-relationship, particularly the deterioration of Zaza Napoli's self-confidence (a remarkable performance from the late Michel Serrault), which wisely puts audience into a heartfelt milieu whereas the entire "mini-film case" merely functions as a backdrop, there is no worries about our protagonists' personal security, the only gory murder is underplayed by a poison-dart.The odd-couple route stews in a series of set pieces which strive on the verge of platitude, yet the acting, literally Michel Serrault, does single-handedly overturns the unfavorable condition, also who could forget Benny Luke's transvestite black servant (who changes his dresses in each scene), whilst in the latter returning-to-Italy part, the contradiction is pure simple but effective, which leavens the situation into a more culturally universal understanding. Enrico Morricone's score also is a big selling-point for the filmOverall, this super-optimistic farce (I suppose it includes the entire series, there are three films in all) could easily outshines among myriads of melodramatic-sentimental gay genre films even they were made several dozens of years ahead.

Just when I thought they stopped making good movies sometime in the early seventies! This French film is absolutely priceless, hilarious and touching, full of social commentary and gender-busting chutzpah. Man pretending to be woman pretending to be man!!!!! Gays teaching straights how to walk gay!!! Inspired! Brilliant acting by everyone, especially the leads, fast action, not one boring moment, not at all catering to the average. I haven't seen the other two films. I can't wait to see them. This masterpiece is every bit as good as "The Odd Couple".