Robin Williams and Nathan Lane — clearly having the time of his life — star in this mid-’90s remake of a French farce. The pitch sells itself: it’s the movie about a gay man whose son wants him to play it straight for a few days! What lifts The Birdcage over La Cage aux Folles (1978) is the devilish screenplay by Elaine May (“Live on Fisher Island and get buried in Palm Beach — that way you’ll get the best of Florida!”) and canny casting by director Mike Nichols. His most inspired decision was to cast Gene Hackman as the conservative Senator Keeley. Hackman shows his sadly underused comedic talent, encapsulated in the scene in which he’s in a lather over which clergyman should officiate at his daughter’s wedding. The Pope? “Too controversial.” Billy Graham? “Too liberal.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/-pQpWdpYl1s]