The Birdcage

Comedy, 1996.  Starring: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Calista Flockhart.

Uhm, Nathan Lane has lost his entire mind, ‘kay?  This is one of those movies you need to watch in loose, absorbent clothing, ‘cause if you don’t bust a gut from too much laughter, you might wet yourself from trying to hold back some of the laughter.  Robin is his usual hilarious self, but he and Nathan together make the comedy “ping-pong” almost painful.  This remake of the French farce “La Cage Aux Folles” does what most remakes never do—it actually outdoes the original in every way!  Just the scene where Robin’s character is trying to teach Nathan’s character to “walk like a man,” pays the price of admission, even at today’s prices!

This movie is thoroughly enjoyable, despite the premise of the subject matter (some may find it objectionable).  I loaned the dvd to someone who never returned it, and I’m regretting that now, but since I have my favorite dvd website (half.com) to rely on, I guess I’ll replace it, since they sure aren’t.  A+ for sheer hilarity.