|
 Director
: Mike Nichols
Starring
: Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest and Robin Williams.
Picture
1.85:1 anamorphic and 4:3, DD Surround, Double-Side, Single-Layer,
Keep Case.
Running
Time : 119 mins
The
story:
Come
as you are.
Armand
(Robin Williams) is a gay nightclub owner living in Miami
with his partner Albert (Nathan Lane). However their perfect
life is not to last as Armand's son has announced he is
getting married... to the daughter of conservative Senator
Keeley (Gene Hackman)! Will the Senator's traditional family
values hold when he meets Armand for dinner? Not if Armand
has his way. Begin the lies and deception as Armand and
his son try to assemble the perfect traditional family,
much to the annoyance of Albert who find's his role as Mother
has no place in this setup..
The
summary:
The
Birdcage is a remake of the 1978 French film, "La Cage
Aux Folles" with very little changes made to the plot
or characters. The plot centers around Robin Williams gay
character, which may well have been original and outrageous
in the day of 'La Cage' but the camp humour is becoming
a little worn and dated these days. It's a mildly amusing
film that certainly has some good moments, but the running-time
seems a little too long and a little short on ideas, which
seriously affects the pace of the film.
The
Birdcage's main selling-point without a doubt is the cast.
Love him or hate him, Robin Williams flourishes in his role
and his frantic pace helps to lift the film during the duller
moments. Together with Nathan Lane (his gay partner) they
form a great double-act and provide the films funniest scenes,
usually when they are bickering. Gene Hackman also shines
and has some memorable scenes in the latter part of the
film. If this film had been made a decade earlier then it
could have been a great film. But 18 years after the "La
Cage' original, it's just looks far too dated. I must point
out (because I've been told to) that my wife thinks this
film is wonderful, but then she loves "Too Wong Foo"
too. Perhaps the category 'chick-flick' would be appropriate!
We
must bear in mind that this was an early region one release
and therefore doesn't fare well when making comparisons
to today's feature-packed Special Editions. But even so,
you still want value for money and The Birdcage DVD package
really is below-par on all fronts. The transfer is decidedly
average, with little to really impress with regards to the
picture and the 5.1 audio soundtrack fails to impress, largely
due to the lack of surround use. MGM have also included
the 4:3 pan & scan transfer on the flip.
|
54%
