The Birdcage is a 1996 movie (a virtually shot-for-shot re-make of La Cage aux Folles) which stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Christine Baranski, Calista Flockhart, Gene Hackman, Dan Futterman, and Hank Azaria. The script was by Elaine May, adapted from La Cage Aux Folles’ screenplay by Jean Poiret and Francis Veber, and the film was directed by Mike Nichols.

Tagline: Come as you are.

Val Goldman and Barbara Keeley are about to get married, so they have their families meet each other. Val's dad, Armand, is a gay nightclub owner in South Beach who lives with his lover, Albert. Barbara's father is a conservative Republican US Senator (who sees Bob Dole and Billy Graham as being too liberal) up for re-election and the co-founder of the Coalition For Moral Order.

The Keeleys are driving down to South Beach, Florida to meet the Goldman family (after the founder of the Coalition for Moral Order dies in the bed of an "underage, black whore") and Val persuades his father (Williams) to pretend to be as stuffy and conservative as the Keeley family.

Initially Armand refuses to lie about who he is, but in the end he agrees to the charade in order to make his son happy. After Armand and Val realize a female presence would make their ruse more believable, Armand visits Val's mother, Katherine Archer (who gave full custody of Val to Armand and Albert when he was born and hasn't seen him since), to accompany him to meet Barbara's conservative parents. However, she gets stuck in traffic and Albert dresses up as a woman who appears to be a younger Margaret Thatcher. At dinner the guests talk about politics and Albert demonstrates his conservative politics, while Armand and Val panic over the dinner, the possibility that Katherine could appear at any moment and the fact that not all of the homoerotic images have been removed from the house.

Eventually Katherine walks in and introduces herself as Val's mother, at which point Val takes off Albert's wig. The Keeleys are shocked that Albert is really a man (and that they are really Jewish) and they are about to leave when the tabloid media show up and plan to catch the conservative U.S. Senator in a public scandal.

In the end, the Keeleys come to understand why the ruse was concocted and Armand is able to sneak the Keeley family past the media circus by having them all dress up in drag. It ends happily with the two of them marrying in an interfaith ceremony.

A special version censored for television broadcast uses special effects to change the thongs worn by various extras into baggier swimwear. The television version often includes some deleted and extended scenes.

Quotes

• Albert: Oh, yes. What an ugly story. Of course, we don't believe a word of it. He was obviously framed! I for one would call for an autopsy!
• Senator Keeley: That's just what Rush Limbaugh said!
• Albert: Oh?

• Mrs. Keeley: We can get the Pope to bless the wedding; it's not hard.
• Senator Keeley: Yeah... no, too controversial. Maybe Billy Graham... no, too liberal.

• Armand: You're taking your toothbrush with you to your grave. How Egyptian.

• Armand: (taking a sip of coffee) Ugh. What is this, sludge?
• Agador: Yes, it's sludge. I thought it'd make a nice change from coffee.

• Armand: What are you doing, giving him drugs? What the hell are 'pirin' tablets?
• Agador: It's aspirin, with the 'a' and the 's' scraped off.
• Armand: My God, that's brilliant.
• Agador: I know.

• Albert: Whatever I am, he made me! I was adorable once. Young and full of hope... now look at me. I'm this short, fat, insecure middle-aged thing!
• Armand: I made you short?

See also

• Cross-dressing in film and television

External links

1996 films | LGBT-related films | Film remakes | United Artists films

The Birdcage – Ein Paradies für schrille Vögel | The Birdcage