La Cage Aux Folles
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Movie Reviews of La Cage Aux Folles
Movie Review: FRENCH COMEDY
Summary: 5 Stars
This is hysterically funny. I loved it and you would too.Movie Review: The Original And Best
Summary: 4 Stars
Although The Birdcage (Robin Williams, Nathan Lane) was a likeable and entertaining movie, noting can beat the general sense of fun and style generated in the 1979 French original. Ugo Tognazzi stars as Renato Baldi, the hapless owner of the 'La Cage Aux Folles' nightclub, a dinner-theatre with Drag acts as the stars. Henpecked by the biggest star of all, the fabulous and temperemental Zsa Zsa (Michel Serrault), he attempts one of the biggest performances of his life when he hears his son Laurent is engaged to marry the daughter of Charrier, an ultra right-wing politician. He tries to create a loving, heterosexual family environment to garner the Charrier's approval, and his subsequent and spectacular failure makes for one of the funniest comedies of the 1970's.What's interesting about this movie is that even though it centres on a gay couple running a drag club, there is very little emphasis placed on the drag acts themselves... Zsa Zsa does not perform any long, unnessecary musical numbers. Instead, director Edouard Molinaro focuses on the storyline, and it's here that the movie excels. Strong performances from Tognazzi (Renato), Michel Galabru (M. Charrier), Carmen Scarpita (Charrier's long-suffering wife) and particularly Serrault as the devastatingly annoying Albin drive this movie forward, and the produciton is full of vintage 1970's touches. The score (by Ennino Morricone) is wonderful, and the dramatic strings and 70's-style synthesisers impersonationg 30's-style orchestras create a perfect comedy atmosphere.
The fact that this is a french film, too, lends much to the final piece. The sibilant and rapid speech give Zsa Zsa's tantrums wonderful resonance, and Charrier's moralising takes on a whole new level of seriousness. He's more Gene Hackman than Gene Hackman himself.
This is a thoroughly recommended movie, even though the DVD quality is not the best (but still fine) and the extras aren't worth mentioning. Get it!
Movie Review: Birdcage Mark 1
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the original film on which The Birdcage is based. It is a little sharper in every respect, but just as funny. While in The Birdcage you know all along that everybody's joking, the actors play it for real here. You never doubt that these are committed homosexuals living in a long-term relationship. The highlight is the outrageous male maid - a laugh at every turn.
Although nominally about a gay relationship, this is really just another of Francois Weber's brilliant "buddy" movies, one of the first in a long tradition that includes Tais Toi and The Dinner Game as particular highlights. Weber has a superlative grasp on the comedy archetype: the set-up, the tangle of confusions, the resolution and the moral. Few people in movies have had such a clear and consistent grasp of the demands of comedy. And, as with his other great comedies, this one packs a great moral punch.
By the way, nowadays Weber is both writer and director; in La Cage Aux Folles he was one of the four writers.
Movie Review: Great Comedy, disappointing DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
Anyone who has seen "The Bird Cage" knows the basic premise of the story. "La Cage Aux Folles" is THE original item, and to this day still remains as funny as ever. I found the similarity between the two movies very interesting. Many of the lines and gags are verbatim. Michel Serrault's facial expressions and shrieks alone will crack you up. The DVD gives the viewer several language and subtitle choices. I enjoyed watching it in the original French with English subtitles, although you can of course view it in dubbed English. I found the DVD disappointing due to a fuzzy picture, poor sound, and a lack of extras. If you can live with these shortcomings, then by all means buy this DVD.Movie Review: La Cage Aux Folles (original French version)
Summary: 4 Stars
Though the images are bit dated now, the humor is timeless. The prejudices of society are still the same, so today's audiences will enjoy the film as much as those of us who saw it back in the 70's.
The film doesn't dwell on the relationship of the two men, but on the need to fool the parents of their son's fiance, who would stop the wedding if they knew the parents of the Laurent were gay.
Sound quality could be better.