Powerful

Perfect cast and a good story

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Just reading the plot line of this film, I knew they had the right cast with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. However, Hank Azaria really steals every scene he is in and is a hilarious side character. The film does feel a bit slow in the beginning, but makes up for it in the end. The comedy really hits a homer in during the climatic dinner scene. It may not be one of my favourite Robin Williams films, but it is one of my favourite Williams characters. This film is also way ahead of its time tackling issues that still plague us like gay rights, abortion and racism. A great opposing dynamic between the two families. Very funny and topical film that will make you feel good by the end while laughing your ass off!

A Tour de Force ....... BY ALL!!!! The Concept, The Acting, The Production. totally accomplished ...

Let me preface this with two things:1. Unlike some other negative reviews I'm seeing here, my opinion of this movie has nothing to do with the subject matter.2. I have not seen the original French version.Maybe I just don't appreciate "farce", a term which everyone who loves this movie seems to insist on using to describe it.In my own terms, I'd describe this movie as battle-of-the-stereotypes trapped in a 95-minute long "Three's Company" episode--you're forced to watch as incredibly unreasonable and/or unrealistic decisions cause "misunderstandings" and "wacky situations" to pile up on each other, and you have to suffer through it all with uncomfortable anticipation because you know full well that at some point the paper-thin house of cards will all come crashing down. I find this kind of storytelling to be unbearable.I love(d) Robin Williams, and maybe I'm just accustomed to seeing him in other roles, but I just don't entirely buy him in this role. It's not that it's a bad performance, it just seems more like a straight person's circa-1996 interpretation of what being gay is. He's believable as a loving partner, and he's actually the straight man (pun alert!) of his coupling with Nathan Lane, but there's at least one moment that stands out like something from his stand-up act -- too over-the-top and almost mocking to be in character.Lane is grating. Again, another actor I like, but the character that he plays is so completely turned up to 11 at every moment--he's somehow loud, emotionally stunted, practically bipolar and a gentle snowflake all at the same time. Other reviews I've read here find him funny (I completely don't), but once again, I don't understand what's so funny about playing the character so unrealistically stereotypical. It also hurts the suspension of disbelief in Williams' character -- why would Williams' rather reasonable, down-to-earth character put up with Lane's character's nonsense?And, a note regarding stereotypes: I've noticed some other reviewers here citing the overdone stereotypes as the REASON it's funny, and I couldn't disagree more. Yes, stereotypes can absolutely be cleverly and successfully worked into comedy--I would argue that the underrated "Undercover Brother" proves that--but these characters, most notably Lane, are just so loud and in-your-face that you get to a point where you just want them to shut up.Another reviewer mentioned the son being a somewhat unlikeable character, and with the actions and demands he makes in the story, to that end, I agree. This is yet another casualty of this movie's disconnect from reality -- the son of a gay couple could never actually expect his parents to do what he's asking of them. Granted, it's probably because this movie is based on a relic of the late 70s, but still.Despite mostly hating this movie, the reason I'm giving it 3 out of 10 is because it has a COUPLE of bright spots. Hank Azaria has a few good moments as Lane and Williams clownish house boy, and there are a couple of random funny bits sprinkled here and there (Williams trying to teach Lane how to be less outwardly gay is pretty funny). Also, I love Christine Baranski--unfortunately, she kinda gets shafted on screen time (part of the build-up to the "wackiness"). Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest are both fine actors and play their roles well, I just wish it was in the service of a better story.Bottom Line: I am a Mike Nichols fan, I like everyone in the cast, but I just don't see this movie as successful on any level. Maybe it just lost something in the translation from French.

Many years ago I watched LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, which this film is based on, and incidentally was one of the first foreign language films I ever saw. From what I remember, it was a laugh-riot from beginning to end, and was very economical at 96 minutes. THE BIRDCAGE, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and Gene Hackman, tells essentially the same story but with an American bent. While I can respect the changes that were made, at about 25 minutes longer things could have been more streamlined than they were. Here, Robin Williams plays a more subtle comedic character as Armand, the owner of the titular Birdcage, a drag club where his partner Albert (Nathan Lane) is the star performer. When his son Val comes home for a visit, he tells his father that he is getting married, but to the daughter of a conservative Senator. The comedy of errors that ensues has to be seen to be believed, and in my mind was as funny as the original. Robin Williams was very effective in playing the "straight" man to Nathan Lane's hysterical queen, and both played off of each other very well. Gene Hackman was also pretty hilarious as a stereotypically backwards-minded right-winger. Overall, while a remake of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES might not have been necessary, THE BIRDCAGE is pretty funny, if a little long-winded in parts. It has a great cast who all perform very well together, with special mention going to Hank Azaria as Armand and Albert's butler Agador. It also had a fine soundtrack as well. Bottom line: Robin Williams fans should enjoy this, as long as the satirical jabs at Republicans don't offend them, and fans of the French original should find plenty to like here as well.