A ‘Birdcage’ in the theater…
is worth seing twice
Director Mike Nichols’ raucous new update of ‘La Cage Aux
Folles’ features a top-notch ensemble that yields hilarious
results
By Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
hile he was being interviewed for the special-effects-dominated
"Jumanji" last fall, Robin Williams was asked which of his films
was his favorite. He tossed out "Dead Poets Society" and
"Awakenings," but then thought for a bit and decided it might be
the movie he was filming at the time, a picture called "The
Birdcage."
Self-promotion being what it is, and interviews seldom acting in
the interest of fair assessment, Williams’ choice was hardly
unpredictable. Yet his statement could not have been more
correct.
Mike Nichols’ "The Birdcage" is cinema without a net, that rare
comedy that sets itself up with a minimum of effort, and then bangs
out laugh after laugh as it speeds through its story. With lesser
actors, weaker direction or dull writing, this movie could have
been a disaster, but "The Birdcage" possesses none of these
hypothetical faults. It’s a movie to see twice.
The film starts with the now-patented "Miami Vice" helicopter
shot: the South Beach skyline approached from the ocean. Emmanuel
Lubezki’s graceful camera zooms over the beach and then cranes down
into the open doors of The Birdcage, a club on the strip, and then
through the club onto the singer-filled stage – all cleverly
assembled into a continuous take.
We meet Armand (Williams), the club’s owner, now frantic because
his star act refuses to take the stage. He rushes into his
apartment above the club to console the aforementioned star act,
his companion Albert (Nathan Lane). It turns out, Albert is
paranoid that Armand is cheating on him. The first 20 minutes are
so dizzyingly over-amped, they’re initially hard to take in.
Alternating lines seemed staged, fake and over-the-top.
Yet comfort and assimilation come quickly, as Armand’s
mild-mannered son, Val (Dan Futterman), enters. He turns out to be
the visitor Armand’s been preparing for; his announcement that he’s
getting married sets the plot in motion. After the initial shock,
Armand consents, and Albert weeps nostalgically when he hears the
news over breakfast the next morning.
We jump to the exact opposite human beings in the universe. Sen.
Keeley (a sublime Gene Hackman) and wife (always sharp Dianne
Wiest) are model citizens, especially since Keeley upholds
ultra-conservative Christian coalition values. The couple will
obviously not be huge fans of Armand and Albert, but as luck would
have it, that’s just the family their daughter has decided to marry
into. Through a series of ribald events, they end up driving to
South Beach for a two-family dinner that provides the main course
of "Birdcage’s" comedy feast.
When Robin Williams is the straight man (so to speak) of your
comedy team, you’re in good hands. He reins in his antics a few
notches and tosses out sarcastic barbs with aplomb. Lane takes his
humor to the opposite extreme, scoring many of the funniest lines
that keep this movie moving. Hank Azaria also deserves credit as
the couple’s flamboyant housekeeper.
Perhaps the most exciting element of "Birdcage’s" performances
is their lived-in feel. This isn’t "Philadelphia," and Williams and
Lane succeed at making their characters believable. Much of the
second half’s laughter concerns their ability to act straight,
presupposing the success of their acting gay.
None of these concerns are conscious while viewing this update
of the French "La Cage Aux Folles." Elaine May has written a sharp
script that dodges sentimentality while still speaking to relevant
and compelling issues. Nichols directs with the warm, light-handed
touch that made "The Graduate" such a generational hit.
"The Birdcage" is packed chock-full of pertinent issues (family,
tolerance, reconciliation), but the film’s triumph is that you
laugh so hard you hardly notice.
FILM: "The Birdcage," directed by Mike Nichols. Written by
Elaine May. Starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane and
Dianne Wiest. Grade: A
Left to right: Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams star
in "The Birdcage."
Robin Williams plays Armand …
… and Nathan Lane plays his better half
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