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.


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. ;-)

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That's your opinion. I love the film and think it's a hoot and a half even after all these years. Yeah, the son is a douche and his attitude is obnoxious,but so what? The actress, by the way, is Callista Flockhart, not "Ally McBeal."

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I know, I was just joking about the Ally McBeal thing. Although this was a good year before she took that role.

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I have to say, I'm getting sucked into watching this every time I see it on TV, especially as Epix HD is playing it. The entire cast is brilliant, and has such a chemistry together, it's just a delight to watch.

And the film is dated, but in a good way. Thankfully, we've come a long, long way since the days in which this movie was made. That said, I still think it's timely and poignant, especially with the political angle and the situation with the news.

And you have to take it easy on Val. He obviously loved his parents, but that might not mean much if you're standing face-to-face with a seriously conservative Senator who cares more about elections than his own family's well-being and happiness.

For Val, he was in love with Barbara, not her parents. And Barbara had no problems with his true family or how it was set up. And in the situation of love and marriage, sometimes, the person you love and want to settle down with can very much become more important and more primary than your original family.

We'd all probably prefer the families to melt together and merge, but that doesn't always happen.

•—•
Mrs. French's cat is missing...

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Well said.

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Disagree. I'm watching it right now and laughing my ass off all over again.

Remember the magic words: "Please", "Thank you" and "Step off bitch!"

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I can't agree with you, OP. I watched it this evening, in honor of Mr. Williams (sigh), and I still found it as funny, and as clever as ever.

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-= J =-

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[deleted]

As a movie fan of all films, especially old ones, I can say that this happens with ALL films.

Films are made at a certain time, even historic-themed ones. So parts of all films will be stuck in that era. Especially if they are supposed to be edgy.

This film is a remake of an earlier French film, La Cage Aux Folles (made in the '70s), which was a film of the PLAY performed in the early '70s, so this remake, which is pretty true to the original (except Americanized), is naturally going to seem dated, even in the year it was made.

But the basic meanings and suggestions and intentions, as well as the writing and the characters and the acting, are all still there, and are timeless.

You saw the movie as a "making a statement" movie. It was never intended to be just that. It's mainly a COMEDY.

I LOVE this movie. Its comedy still holds up. It is timeless.

I remember seeing the film La Cage Aux Folles for the first time years ago on cable. I watched it with my mother. We lived in south Louisiana. Talk about culture shock! We'd never seen anything like it! We were mesmerized by the characters, the plot, and the likeability of the characters, the gay house assistant. When Robin Williams appeared in the American remake, I was thrilled. It was a rare case of the American remake being ALMOST as good as the original foreign film, if not equally as good.

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Doesn't hold up? Great writing and performances always hold up. Recently saw this after years and me and my friend laughed our a**es off. It's hilarious from beginning to end.

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I saw this for the first time and I think it holds up well. Similar to the Hangover humor and it made me laughed a lot.

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Could not disagree with you more.

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