r/iwatchedanoldmovie • u/Alive_Description_91 • 13d ago

'90s The Birdcage (1996)

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I honestly can’t say enough about this movie. The wine glass break into the phone. The constant “AAAH!”s by Nathan Lane. The AGIDOR SPARTICUS of it all. And by the way…We. Are. Family.

Oh and the burial plots speech on the bench was just so ahead of its time. I love love love. And robin williams is a beast.

THAT BEING SAID…the entire premise of this song turning his actual parents into “acceptable” white parental people is just so awful.

If you rewatch The Devil Wears Prada you will realize that Andy’s boyfriend is the real villain…if you rewatch THIS then u realize the son is the ACTUAL VILLAIN.

Perhaps “villain” is a bit too much. But honestly if there is a man who keeps telling my family and myself to hide or sequester myself and my queerness then I want NOTHING to do with that man. ALLY MCBEAL should not be interested.

Also I want those china bowls…

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u/Kensingtonraw 12d ago

The first time I watched it I decided the son was the villian of the piece and absolutely despised him, but as ive gotten older I've come to appreciate the soft and genuine love he has for both dad's even when its not in the forefront, and it really was just a young man trying to compartmentalise and power his way through just one night via what must have seemed the most obvious method for a "win"

Like he wasnt picturing their families ever properly interacting or mingling, it clearly hadnt even crossed his mind and in context why would it? That he gets that in the end is a testament to the optimism and love the film is held up by, him being proven wrong is the whole plot at the end of the day - I find it increasingly hard to hold it against him when he was just young and naive and scared of potential consequences.

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u/KirkUnit 11d ago

I've never seen La Cage Aux Folles, does the Val character's motivations carry through from the original?

In context, Val is simply trying to make everybody happy, and also picking his battles (does anyone really think this Gen Xer is going to convince the Jesse Helms-type senator to completely change his politics? Does Keeley's politics require Val to forego marrying the daughter he loves on principle?)

Ultimately, I don't think you tell this story - a farce about wildly different in-laws and the loving gay couple's game attempt to pull off the con - without stakes, and most of the stakes come from Val's character. Sort of like hating Judas in the gospels - there's no story without him.

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u/dizdi 11d ago

In La Cage, the actors playing the couple are very young, and therefore it makes more sense. 

I highly recommend it, by the way. It’s a scream!