MovieChat Forums > The Birdcage (1996) Discussion > Let's be honest, this really doesn't hol...

Let's be honest, this really doesn't hold up after all these years.

posted 10 years ago by VidaBoheme
25 replies | jump to latest

Don't get me wrong - I was a big fan of this movie when it first came out. I thought that ANY LGBTQ representations on film was progress in 1996. And the dinner scene for its time was risqué and button pushing. The movie is really built around Nathan Lane who oftentimes is very funny, but also very grating with all the screaming. I mean, he LOSES it after the car horn goes off. Come on.

There are definitely some funny moments (Hank Azaria, *beep* the shrimp, Hackman in drag). But just moments. I recently bought this on blu-ray and watched it again and I was struck at how much the film feels dated. The actual "funny" lines just don't hit the same way they used to and the film has lost a lot of its "edginess" over the years. Why in the world is it rated R?!! It is so tame now.

The worst thing of all though is the son Val. He is absolutely the biggest douche and I find it hard to suspend disbelief that Armand and Albert would put up with him. After all, wasn't Val raised by two gay men? Around tons of gay people? In Miami? Sure, he comes around at the end, but he put the two people that raised him through hell. And why? Because his straight (too young) marriage to Ally McBeal was more important than his true family? Ugh.

Finally...Bob Dole is not gorgeous. ;-)

[–] uvl 10 years ago

Yes, Val is a douche. But hey, it's there to give the story a reason for existing. Otherwise, there's no plotting, there's no tension, and well, there's no compelling reason to watch.

[–] residentevil6901 9 years ago

I think it holds up just fine, it's just as good today as it was when it came out. The only thing that's changed is yourself, you're 20 years older now then you were then. The movie remains the same, sounds like your perspective has changed.

[–] louiseculmer 8 years ago

it is perhaps less easy to believe in the 90s. when the original was made, in the 70s, it would have been more startling for a man to be known to have been raised by a gay couple, and more understandable that he wanted to keep it quiet when his very conservative prospective in laws visited.

[–] ritamilo 8 years ago

I can't even count how many times I've watched this movie. Yes, at the time it was progressive for its time - 20 years ago. But now, I simply treasure its comic gems.

Lane has actually done quite a creditable job with the Americanized Albert - originally Albin in the French "La Cage Aux Folles." And when I saw La Cage, Albin was also a character who got very emotional over every little thing.

I do agree that Val is the weakest character in the film. The fact that he asks his father to jump through hoops to present a facade to his future in-laws never sits well with me, because we see from his relationship with both Albert and Armand that they truly are his parents. Even his confession during the reveal that Albert is not "Mother Coldman" but his true mother in spirit does not seem enough somehow. Yet I still chuckle watching this movie.

"I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me..."

[–] PaladinNJ (21588) 5 years ago

Have to join the ranks of the disagreers. This film is just as hysterical today as it was when it came.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2411) 4 years ago

well the idea that federal officials do not know gays are in relationships--or that it would have to be a secret. It is legal in all states now. This is like asking to keep a secret that the earth is round.

And yes, I agree Bob Dole is a pass.