Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2319 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-02-01
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
• Dubbed in: French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The great improvisational comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May reunited to (respectively) direct and write this update of the French comedy La Cage Aux Folles. Robin Williams stars as a gay Miami nightclub owner who is forced to play it straight and ask his drag-queen partner (Nathan Lane) to hide out when Williams's son invites his prospective--and highly conservative--in-laws and fiancée to a meet-and-greet dinner party. Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest play the straight-laced senator and his wife, and Calista Flockhart (from television's Ally McBeal) plays their daughter in a culture-clash with outrageous consequences. May's witty screenplay incorporates some pointed observations about the political landscape of the 1990s and takes a sensitive approach to the comedy's underlying drama. Topping off the action is Hank Azaria in a scene-stealing role as Williams's and Lane's flamboyant housekeeper, "Agador Spartacus." --Jeff Shannon

Video Description
DVD Special Features

8 page booklet featuring a revealing insight into the creation of The Birdcage
Original Theatrical Trailer
Chapter Search
Soundtrack: English/French/German/Italian/Spanish
Subtitles: English/German/Dutch/French/Spanish/Portuguese/Swedish/Norwegian/Finnish/Polish/Hard of Hearing - English

Synopsis
In Mike Nichols's hilarious remake of the 1978 French comedy LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, Robin Williams stars as Armand Goldman, a gay cabaret owner who lives in Miami's South Beach with his partner, Albert (Nathan Lane), the club's star performer. Armand and Albert must try in vain to pass as a typical couple when the prospective in-laws of Armand's son, Val (Dan Futterman), come for dinner. While accepting their alternative lifestyle personally, Val demands that they tone it down for his girlfriend's (Calista Flockhart) parents--who happen to be a political couple running on a family values platform. Lane's hilarious attempts to "play it straight" and Hank Azaria's brilliantly flamboyant houseboy, Agador, are the highlights of the film, which also features a beautifully understated Williams as the more "normal" of the pair. Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest are delightfully square as the future in-laws.

Customer Reviews

Outrageous With a Huge Range Of Talent
Talent alone does not assure a great film or even a good film. When there is a great tale and a great cast, all that is needed for a wonderful film is in hand, and, 'The Birdcage", has the needed ingredients in abundance. Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Diane Wiest, and Robin Williams are just the start of an exceptional ensemble cast. Dan Futterman does a wonderful job as the son who is about to marry a young woman in the film, who has since become very well known as the star of, "Ally Mcbeal", Calista Flockhart. An in a performance that deserves to be mentioned on its own, Hank Azaria steals virtually every scene he appears in.

Gene Hackman is a US Senator that is so conservative that he thinks Robert Dole is not only dark but too liberal, and even the Pope is too controversial. Now take his daughter who is going to marry Val no matter what her parents feel, and add that both of Val's parents are men, you can imagine the fireworks. The male couple is comprised of Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, and they are as funny a duo as have played onscreen together. I hope another film or perhaps a theater opportunity presents itself for these two actors to work together, as they are brilliant, both alone and as a pair.

Much of the film surrounds a massive effort at deception and takes large roundhouse swipes at every political cliché, the more to the right or left, the more damage the position will suffer. The film is an absolute riot from beginning to end; you will be hard pressed to find a funnier one hour and 59 minutes of comedy with a cast of this caliber in another film.

Welcome to Camp Paradise!
I LOVE this film. It's guaranteed to make you feel good and laugh until you hurt. If you haven't seen this film, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's one for a Saturday night in with the girls (or boys) and a bottle or two of wine! You truly won't be disappointed.

Much more than farce & Gene Hackman in a dress.
A version of La Cage aux Folles, without the musical numbers, this a witty and - yes - very amusing piece of comedy, with its farcical moments. However, because there is a cast of such superb actors (absolutely NO dud performances from anyone), and because the very best comedy is always close to tragedy, there are some extremely touching moments as well.
Robin Williams is excellent, and - for him - very subdued, thus proving that he is much more than a fast mouth. The film, however, definitely belongs to Nathan Lane, who steals every scene he's in, and despite being so outrageously camp, is never so over-the-top as to be irritating. I can't bear slapstick comedy, however skillful, and although the much-loved dinner party scene teeters on the brink, it remains restrained enough to be very funny.
Despite all the reviews describing it as non-stop laughs, sidesplitting-laugh-a-minute, etc, the best thing is the poignant bits showing the tenderness of the relationship between Armand and Albert (Williams and Lane), especially Albert's attempts to play-act the straight guy, and his speech at the dinner party when his identity is discovered and he speaks so movingly of his love for Armand's son, etc.
Classic, high-quality comedy - witty, colourful, moving... what more do you want?!!!!