The Birdcage
Funny As Hell
•
1h 59m
The Birdcage is a 1996 American comedy film produced and directed by Mike Nichols. Elaine May's screenplay adapted the 1978 French film La Cage aux Folles, itself an adaptation of a 1973 play. It stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay couple whose son (Dan Futterman) is set to marry the daughter (Calista Flockhart) of a conservative senator (Gene Hackman) and his wife (Dianne Wiest). Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski appear in supporting roles. The film marked the first screen collaboration of Nichols and May, who had been a comedy duo in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Birdcage was released on March 8, 1996, to positive reviews and significant commercial success. It debuted at the top of the North American box office and stayed there for the following three weeks, grossing $185.3 million worldwide on a $31 million budget. It is seen as groundbreaking because it was one of few films from a major studio to feature LGBT characters at its center. The cast received notable praise and was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. The Birdcage also received a nomination for Best Art Direction at the 69th Academy Awards.
Up Next in Funny As Hell
-
Get Shorty
Get Shorty is a 1995 American gangster comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Scott Frank, based on Elmore Leonard's 1990 novel. The film stars John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini, Dennis Farina, and Danny DeVito. It follows Chili Palmer (Travo...
-
When Harry Met Sally
When Harry Met Sally... is a 1989 American romantic comedy film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Nora Ephron. Starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby, it follows the title characters from the time they meet in Chicago and share a drive to New York City through twelve...
-
The Holdovers
The Holdovers is a 2023 American Christmas comedy drama film directed by Alexander Payne, written by David Hemingson, and starring Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Sessa. Set in 1970, it tells the story of a strict classics teacher at a New England boarding school who is forced to...
