The Birdcage – Ein Paradies für schrille Vögel (1996)

The Birdcage – Ein Paradies für schrille Vögel: Directed by Mike Nichols. With Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest. A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée’s right-wing moralistic parents.

“First off; I can understand why people would dislike this movie; The characters are all portrayed in an extremely stereotypical way, the acting is considerably over the top most of the time, the story is rather cheesy and not very believable – I mean which gay couple would (or COULD) transform their eccentric home into a monastery-like environment in 24 hours to pretend to be a cultured family to impress the sonu0026#39;s fiancéeu0026#39;s parents?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e…Yet I couldnu0026#39;t stop laughing all the way through, even after the 10th time. Why? Itu0026#39;s BECAUSE the characters are so stereotypical, itu0026#39;s BECAUSE the acting is over the top, itu0026#39;s BECAUSE the whole thing is so unbelievable that it makes it scintillating to behold. Even though the characters are stereotypical, the script has obviously been written by someone who doesnu0026#39;t intend to contribute to the stereotypical view of the gay drag community, but who rather wanted to create characters that are lovable while at the same time shouting u0026quot;donu0026#39;t take us seriouslyu0026quot;. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis isnu0026#39;t a movie portraying life in the gay society; and everyone who expects realistic (and hence probably rather unfunny) portrayal of such a theme is better off NOT watching a comedy featuring gays (donu0026#39;t most comedies thrive on making the stereotype seem funny?) It may not be politically correct all the way, but hey; societyu0026#39;s too hung up on all this political correctness as it is,. The characters in this movie were lovable, perhaps BECAUSE they were stereotypical depictions. However theyu0026#39;re brought to life so well by the actors playing them that it doesnu0026#39;t make you shake your head in frustration over yet ANOTHER movie portraying stereotypes, but rather makes you shake your head in laughter over the deadpan things they say and do, which are so obviously unreal at times that anyone who thinks this movie will promote a false picture of the gay community needs a reality check. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe script is amazing, and even though it may really be too over the top once in a while, it doesnu0026#39;t distract from the overall picture. The story isnu0026#39;t much; the focus on details is what makes this movie funny. Little gestures, frowns, face expressions and little subtleties make this movie one of the best comedies I have ever watched, and probably one of the best comedies I will ever be fortunate enough to see in my entire life. Contrary to what it may seem like at first sight, the humor is overly refined without being intellectual, instead of jumping in your face all the time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhatu0026#39;s more, the cast is great. Both Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are very fine comedians who have the touch it takes to play a role like this one. They make over-the-top stereotypes actually FUNNY, instead of just laughable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd yes, I HAVE seen the original movie, not all too long ago actually, and I have to say the remake is twenty to the power of 99 times better than the original. I barely laughed, and the original version was in my eyes an utterly forgettable movie. And that coming from a person who usually hates remakes. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis movie gives the original u0026quot;Birdcageu0026quot; a fresh new shine and transports the story into the 90u0026#39;s. Well made, on all accounts, I canu0026#39;t think of a single criticism!”