The Birdcage – La Cage Aux Folles
Many excellent Hollywood films are based on equally excellent foreign language features that didn’t get as much play in America. 1996’s The Birdcage bases itself (somewhat loosely) on the French/Italian film La Cage Aux Folles, a 1978 adaptation of a popular play. The plots are the same: a gay couple that run a drag club where one of them is the leading lady are faced with having to “play it straight” when their son gets engaged to the daughter of a conservative politician.
La Cage Aux Folles is a surprisingly more subdued film than The Birdcage, and treats the situation with a bit more seriousness than the lighter, fluffier 90s offering, possibly due to the difference in cultural reaction to homosexuality (and the rather broad period difference between the films). But both films have their merits: this is one case where the remake is just as good as the original, mostly due to the comedic powers of Nathan Lane and Robin Williams and the opportunity to see Gene Hackman in a dress.