birdcage

There are very few “smart” comedies out there. Especially these days. Lately, the funny fare in the
cinema is college sex comedies or zainy family fun flicks. Which is all well and good, those certainly
have their place, not to mention their audience. But well thought out comedies that deliver on both a
comedic and craft level are rare.

In 1996, Mike Nichols directed a different kind of comedy that made a definite impression on those of
us who saw it. What drew audiences to this film was the cast: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene
Hackman; all performance powerhouses. Most people had seen these talents in films before,
especially Williams and Hackman, but the premise was certainly unique.

Williams and Lane play a gay couple living in South Beach. Williams owns and runs a drag club
where Lane is the chief attraction. They have a flaming Guatemalan manservant played brilliantly by
Hank Azaria. When Williams’ twenty-year-old son shows up from college and announces he is
marrying the daughter of one of the most conservative Senators in the country (Hackman) things
start to get a little hairy. Williams and Lane must now try and play it straight in order to dupe
Hackman, so the engagement can continue.

From a comedic standpoint, this film has it all. One-liners. Asides. Slapstick. Sight gags. Subtle
hilarity. It’s the perfect mix. One minute you’re guffawing at the over the top hysterics of Nathan
Lane, the next you’re guiltily stifling a laugh at Robin William’s insensitive treatment of a weeping
Hank Azaria and the next your sides hurt at the total confusion on Gene Hackman’s face. And the
performers make all of this possible.

I can’t even imagine that the script was ever used, with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane on the same
set it was probably an improvisational carnival. Mike Nichols either had great trust in the actors and
let them run riot or he was able to assert a great deal of control. Whatever he did, it worked. Upon
inspection, the writing is good, but not genius and I can only think that much of what this film offers
comes from the actor’s ability to deliver surgical comedic timing.

Everyone expects Robin Williams to be hilarious and he is, but he is by no means the lone funny
man. Hank Azaria steals the film in every scene that he’s in with his vivacious accent, ridiculous
wardrobe, subtle mannerisms and inspired physicality. Gene Hackman’s stuffy, boring, mildly racist
character is played in perfect juxtaposition to the garish, free spirited alternative lifestyle world he
finds himself unwittingly lost within. And I can’t leave out Nathan Lane (interestingly, the only actually
gay performer in the bunch). He raises the bar a notch or two for his co-stars and confidently
commits to his over-dramatic, boisterous, high-pitched queen of a character.

This is truly an actor’s film.

Okay, Dan Futterman and Calista Flockhart bring it down a notch or two as the would-be newlyweds,
but luckily they are eclipsed by their far more talented “parents.”

There are only two downsides to this film. 1) Its ending is abrupt and a little hurried. 2) It’s adapted
from a French play. Blech. But I guess only a Frenchman could write such an entertaining story
about gay people. And no jokes about my last name either!