The Birdcage (1996)

A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing moralistic parents.

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers:

Jean Poiret (play), Francis Veber (earlier screenplay),

Stars:

Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Armand Goldman
Gene Hackman	...	Sen. Kevin Keeley
Nathan Lane	...	Albert Goldman
Dianne Wiest	...	Louise Keeley
Dan Futterman	...	Val Goldman
Calista Flockhart	...	Barbara Keeley
Hank Azaria	...	Agador
Christine Baranski	...	Katherine Archer
Tom McGowan	...	Harry Radman
Grant Heslov	...	National Enquirer Photographer
Kirby Mitchell	...	Keeley's Chauffeur
James Lally	...	Cyril
Luca Tommassini	...	Celsius
Luis Camacho	...	Goldman Girl
André Fuentes	...	Goldman Girl (as Andre Fuentes)

Storyline

Armand Goldman owns a popular drag nightclub in South Miami Beach. His long-time lover Albert stars there as Starina. "Their" son Val (actually Armand's by his one heterosexual fling, twenty years before) comes home to announce his engagement to Barbara Keely, daughter of Kevin Keely, US Senator, and vice president of the Committee for Moral Order. The Senator and family descend upon South Beach to meet Val and his father and "mother..." and what ensues is comic chaos.

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Plot Keywords:

senator | beach | drag | south beach | nightclub | 

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Taglines:

What could possibly come between a match made in heaven? The parents. Dinner. And a nightclub called... (The Birdcage)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM/UA site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Birds of a Feather

Filming Locations:

MacArthur Causeway, Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

JPY 73,721,900 (Japan) (13 December 1996)

Gross:

JPY 249,131,200 (Japan) (3 January 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmmaker and PBS producer Rick McKay was hired by director Mike Nichols, months before filming of "Birdcage" began, to go to Paris, London, San Francisco and Atlanta to make a feature length documentary about drag queens. McKay did thorough research to find drag queens all over the world to interview and to film in performance. This finished documentary was used to train Nathan Lane and Robin Williams.

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Goofs

Armand indicates that his cemetery plot is on Key Biscayne. There are no cemeteries, nor would there ever be in this highly up-scale, resort community that is an island "key." Key Biscayne is at best, a few feet above sea level precluding ever having burials on the island secondary to the water table.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[singers are performing "We Are Family" on-stage]
Cyril: [backstage, into a telephone] Agador! Where is Starina? She goes on in 5 minutes!

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Flaming Moe (2011)

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Soundtracks

"THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY"
Written by Ira Gershwin and Harold Arlen
Courtesy of Capitol Records
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

A Warm and Hilarious Comedy...

THE BIRDCAGE is the hysterically entertaining Americanized version of the French classic LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. In this version Robin Williams plays the gay owner of a Florida nightclub who learns his straight son (Dan Futterman) is coming home and is engaged to be married. Williams learns from his son that his fiancée's parents (Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest) are straight-laced and ultra-conservative and will not be comfortable meeting his gay father or his even more flamboyant lover (Nathan Lane) and suggests Williams send Lane out of town while Hackman and Wiest are in town. Instead, Lane puts on his best drag and meets the parents as Williams' wife in one of the most hilarious dinner party scenes ever filmed. This film is chock full of sparkling dialogue and sharp performances. I also found it rather refreshing to see Robin Williams playing straight man to Lane, who along with Hank Azaria as their housekeeper, practically steal the film from everyone else in one of the most entertaining comedies of the 90's. And the sight of Gene Hackman in drag is something everyone must experience.