I have seen this movie at least 15 times and every time it is the same...Val is NOT ashamed of his parents' lifestyle, He KNOWS that is fiance's parents WILL NOT UNDERSTAND so he tries to make things work. That is why he asked them to act straight just for that day. I don't understand everyone knocking the Val character, It was played well and I liked him.
shareEven allowing your point as far as it goes, asking to "get rid of" Albert for the day was over the line. In my opinion, that makes him a jerk who isn't good enough for Armand and Albert.
shareI just thought he was young and self-absorbed. It's clear that he doesn't really mean anything truly harsh to Albert, but could not see how his actions hurt Albert's feelings so much.
Also, he has no idea of the big picture: did he really think that Albert would just "go away" for both his wedding and any future family events involving all family members of Val and Barbara (birth of children, for example). To make the assumption that, after that one night, the families would never meet again is wildly delusional. The last scene of the film (at the wedding) proves this.
Exactly -- and even if Val never realized it, that point had to have occurred to SOMEONE in the course of that day. Were they all just planning to put up the same front for every holiday, family event, family emergency, and impromptu visit for the next 50 years or so? (And who's supposed to answer the phone for the duration of the marriage?)
sharehey i thoguth albert was sexy and really masculine wit the suit , even the pink socks gave it a fashion touch !
shareOh yeah! And since they wouldn't realistically be able to keep up the front for the duration of the marriage (they couldn't even make it through one dinner), then the longer they HAD been able to keep up the front before being found out -- the longer the in-laws realized they had been lied to -- the worse the inevitable revelation would be.
shareI love your screen name "BoxOfficePoison" <- Is that from "Mommie Dearest" when Mayer calls Crawford that?
shareHaving watched this movie a number of times, I think my main problem with it is that Val is played so boringly that it's hard to sympathize with him.
In more fair-minded moments, I think the main problem is that Val and Barbara were too young (so far as their maturity levels went)--something both sets of parents brought up.
Barbara seems to be the one who started it by outright lying to her parents--she was put in a bad situation, to be fair. Her fiance's family was already something that her conservative parents wouldn't approve of, and on top of it, they were being tainted by a political scandal.
Val may have loved his parents, but may have also gotten teased/bullied as a child by anybody who figured out the truth, so hiding the true nature of his family may have become a defense mechanism. And he may have figured Barbara's family would throw a huge stinking fit over his, and given Barbara nothing but grief over it.
So far as lying to Barbara's family and thinking the two families would never see each other again.....Val and Barbara could either be viewed as shortsighted and too wrapped up in their own world to think about anything other than the immediate future, or they may have presumed that given the different geographical locations and social circles of the two families, that they *weren't* likely to run into each other again. That does happen--my maternal and paternal grandparents lived 40 miles away from each other, were both blue-collar families and had much in common, but the extent of their association with each other was my parents' wedding and my baptism about a year later. So far as I can recall, they never saw each other afterwards.
I do think, for Barbara, meeting Albert (dressed as a 'traditional homemaker') made her realize this was an actual human being, not just some theoretical person whom she didn't have to think about. And I think for Val, the moment he referred to Albert as his mother, was a moment where Val realized that he had to deal with his life as it *is*, not what would make it *easier*.
There was a good opportunity to showcase Val and Barbara's realization that maturity was not just about being old enough to get married, but dealing with the more difficult situations in life as they are. There were small little hints of it, but they could have been played better.
I completely agree, and in the end he did deal and fully accepted his life as it is. I think that over the course of his life while he may have being bully or made fun of he fully accepted his parents and love them just the way they were. It wasn't until Barbara told him she had lied to her parents that he started to want to change them, at least for that day. But in the end he introduced Albert as his mother, admitting to Barbara's parents that this was his life, that he fully accepted it and would stand by it or them, no matter what they said or think and even if it meant that Barbara's parents would disapprove. That was my favorite part of the movie because he realize that a mother is not the one that gives birth to you but the one that raises you, is there for you growing up, taking care of you when you're sick and loving you unconditionally which Albert always did with Val.
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If Val hadn't acted like such an ass to everyone, people would like him. He acted like a stuffed shirt with a corn cob up his butt the entire time.
shareFolks--Val HAS to function as the point of conflict. Without that, there is no story to tell, no lessons to learn, no realizations on the part of ANYBODY regarding love and what one is willing to do for it. Dan Futterman was perfect in the role and convincingly the physical product of Robin Williams and the emotional product (neurotic, self-centered, demanding but gentle)of Nathan Lane.
"Thank you, thank you--you're most kind. In fact you're every kind."
i finally watch the movie properly but i did missed out on the first half an hour and at first i was disappointed in Val that he wanted to hide Albert because considering he was raised up with gay people that he would be more proud and then I realised that he's only 20 (seriously dan futterman looked old) and then I understood why he did what he did.
he wasn't ashamed of his parents but just wanted to make a good impression. at that age you're not really confident and self-assured and he needed validation from other people.
I never really cared for this movie, and I watched it the first time the other day in years and realized why I disliked it: val. His selfish, apathetic nature towards his parents really ruined the whole thing for me. He was horribly spoiled, and why people would want to bend over backwards for him was beyond me. Movie was great as long as Val wasn't around.
Common Sense and Common Courtesy are the least common things in the world
I didn't/don't hate Val. He reminds me too much of my kids. It's really hard to have parents that are different. My kids think I am a bit eccentric so anywaysssss they would ask me to act more like a normal mom, whatever that means.
If you love Cheezits 100% copy this and make it your signature.share
Val was downright cruel several times, but I understand where he's coming from.i agree with the previous poster about having eccentric parents being a little difficult. Val was still immature. A part of growing up is learning to say 'who gives a *beep* how crazy my parents are? i love them and i'm proud to be their child!' I think Val figured this out in the end.
i hope you choke on your bacardi & coke!
*Team Landa*
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While it's not fair to hate or dislike Val I suppose, he is still being quite selfish in the way that he does not really seem to care about the pain he is causing his father and Albert by requesting they be anything but what they are while seemingly more concerned about what could go wrong for the Keeley family.
I got the sense that Val has been lying and making excuses about his parents for most of his life (and it's understandable why, as especially for the time he grew up in, life would have been made incredibly difficult for him at school and at high school, perhaps even college, if he were to openly admit he was the child of a gay family. This carried on into his adult life, and while he loves his parents dearly, he has still continued to make excuses and lies for them to avoid trouble in his own life.
One of the biggest themes of the film I think is meant to be acceptance.
* The Keeley family must accept that life is not the conventional picture they paint.
* Armand must accept Albert fully by signing half of his life away on the 'palimony' agreement.
* Albert must accept that there are sacrifices to be made for his son.
* Val must accept that his parents are who they are, and regardless, he cannot change or forever make excuses for the way they are.
* Agador must accept he can't walk in a man's shoes. Ever. (j/k).
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We've become a race of peeping toms.
LOL @ Agador. Loved that character!!
shareHaving read La Cage Aux Folles (what the movie is based off of), the original French film, as well as the musical of the play, I can safely say that The Birdcage has the best portrayal of the son. Both the play and the musical have the son as being small minded and ashamed of Albin (Albert in Birdcage), eventually losing his prejudice and becoming proud. The French film doesn't have him ashamed, but he still acts quite selfishly. The Birdcage wisely shows Val with his family pre-lie to the Keeley's. He has no problem with his parents being gay, he clearly loves Albert and he's very comfortable in his skin and it's clear that the lie told to the Keeley's started with Barbara, which means that Val was confident enough with his own life to tell her the truth about his parents when they met. Something that could have proven fatal to his then-budding relationship with a 17 year old daughter of a right wing Conservative.
It isn't until Val hears that Barbara, in a youthful moment of weakness, lied to her parents not realizing the immediate consequences it would have, starts to panic and only focuses on the finish line. Because of this, he starts to talk and act in a manner that isn't like him, hurting people around him. It's not until Albert walks out of the bedroom in his "Uncle Albert" attire that Val really starts to see what his actions are doing to his family, which explains the tense moment after when he snaps at Agador. The pressure is mounting at that point and that plus the guilt is a lot for a 20 year old.
I WILL say that the film really allows Val to grow by officially labeling Albert's role in his life as "Mother" and by displaying his family to the ultimate opposing view: right wing conservatism. All with pride.