The Birdcage 1996
I never saw this movie, but I got a good deal on a digital copy, so I watched it. It is an interesting movie and the central political of issue of conservatives vs. homosexuality is still quite relevant even if things have changed quite a bit. It is also interesting from a historic standpoint that they were only going to make a movie about gay men if the actors were not gay (Robin Williams and a very ripped Hank Azaria, and even Nathan Lane who had not come out yet). The portrayal of gay men as drag queens and very flamboyant maybe hasn't aged that well, but I was surprised how mostly unaffected Robin Williams was given his propensity to go over the top. I think that was as the script intended, though Williams was on board at one time to play the partner who is more effeminate.
The movie is very much a situational comedy setup as the gay parents of of a son must meet the very conservative parents of the woman he is marrying and must act not gay. This movie is so stacked that Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest are the conservative parents and a pre-Ally McBeal Calista Flockhart is the daughter. A surprisingly hot Christine Baranski shows up as the son's biological mother. Despite some of the aspects being tired, the cast is very good, with some good writing, and a good balance of sweetness and poignancy to go along with the gobs of silliness. The son is a bit of a jerk towards his two fathers for most of the movie in order to get them to do what the script requires and generally the comedy plays out as expected. So it isn't a perfect movie by any means, but it works.
Written: 14 Dec 2024
Owned on: Digital