How had I managed to go all these years without watching The Birdcage? My teenage years were in the 90s and I love Robin Williams and Nathan Lane so I have no idea how I never took the time to watch this. This is such a great movie and those who have already seen it are no doubt mocking how late to the party I am on this, but I was laughing so hard while watching this!
How to Download The Birdcage
The Birdcage was released on March 8, 1996. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform such as Amazon Prime Video. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
A Hilarious Night In
The thing is, I had heard of The Birdcage, but I just never had any major interest in watching it and I am not sure why. I was doing the grocery shopping and in the media section they had a bunch of Blu-Rays for £5 and under and this was one of them, seeing Robin Williams and Nathan Lane on the cover and realizing that this is a popular 90s movie I have never seen made me snap it up and the wife and I had an epic laugh-filled movie night that same evening.
The Unlikely Premise of The Birdcage
I have been thinking about how to describe The Birdcage as the premise does not sound all that exciting to tell you the truth. We have this gay couple that consists of Armand who owns a drag club and his partner Albert who is the premier performer. These are a great pair and they are joined by Agador who is their friend and housekeeper. He is so over the top with his antics, you cannot help, but smile and laugh each time he opens his mouth.
Stellar Performances and Unforgettable Laughter
Armand is played by Robin Williams and as you would expect, he is amazing. Robin Williams is hilarious, but he is much more scaled back, more of the straight man of the trio. Nathan Lane is superb, I love his work and now I can say that his role as Albert is my all-time favorite Nathan Lane performance. Hank Azaria plays their buddy and he is also great.
The Comedic Setup of The Birdcage
Despite being gay, many years ago Armand had a one-night stand with a woman called Katharine and this resulted in his son Val. Val has met the love of his life, Barbara and he plans to marry her, the problem is that her parents are a stuffy senator called Kevin and his wife Louise. To say that they have “conservative republican views” is just a little bit of an understatement!
Not wanting to freak Barbara’s parents out, Val comes up with an idea for Armand to pretend that he is not gay when he meets them. It all builds up to the most hilarious dinner scene that I have ever seen in a movie. I am not going into any more details than that, but it just goes from one insane moment to the next and you legit will not stop laughing.
Legacy and Impact of The Birdcage
I also have to mention that Kevin is played by Gene Hackman and Diane West plays Louise. This is Gene Hackman like you have never seen him before and it is so much fun. The cast and the witty dialogue is what makes this movie. I would love to know how much of this was adlibbed as the stuff they come up with is so natural and feels so authentic.
The Birdcage is such a great time! This is a movie that I would love for my local theatre to re-release as it would be so much fun to watch in a theatre full of people laughing. It is some of the best work of Robin Williams’s and especially Nathan Lane’s amazing careers. I can see myself watching this many times over the coming years, especially when I am in the mood to laugh after a hard day!
