La Cage aux Folles II

1980 [FRENCH]

Action / Comedy

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 57% · 7 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 54% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.8/10 10 2359 2.4K

escape drag queen italy spy microfilm revue

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Plot summary

In a move to make his partner, Renato, jealous, the flamboyant Albin waits in a local cafe - dressed as a woman - hoping to be picked up. But Albin gets more than he bargains for when the fly he catches in his web is actually a spy, who uses him as an unwitting courier of secret microfilm. Now on the run from ruthless agents, Albin and Renato flee to Italy where they attempt to hide out on a farm, with Albin posing as Renato's wife. Can Albin escape the deadly pursuit of these relentless spies or does he have to sustain this charade - as a woman - forever?

720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
912.61 MB
1204*720
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds ...
1.65 GB
1792*1072
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by I_Ailurophile 7 / 10

A lesser creation, but still a lot of fun overall

It's not lost on me that the very premise embraces the familiar pattern for sequels of going off the rails and throwing established characters into an even more far-fetched scenario just for kicks. And that's okay! Not every movie can pull off that free-wheeling "anything goes" spirit, but one kind of has to admire the gumption to do it in the first place, and when it works, it works. One way or another, why shouldn't gay couple Renato and Albin, the latter a drag queen at the famous titular nightclub, get themselves involved in a plot of state secrets, assassins, and international intrigue? With filmmaker Édouard Molinaro returning from the preceding picture, and the same writing team, not to mention the same principal stars (and editors, and cinematographer - and composer Ennio Morricone), all the major pieces are in place to make this farce the best that it could be. To be sure, Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault bring the same marvelous energy to their portrayals of Renato and Albin, and Benny Luke as Jacob; at its best this unquestionably illustrates the same skill, intelligence, and cleverness that made its predecessor such a success. However, I also don't think there's much arguing that 'La cage aux folles II' is a distinctly lesser creation, and it's not a big surprise that while the 1978 film got remade in the United States in 1996 as 'The birdcage,' this 1980 follow-up is virtually unknown.At its best we get outrageous scene writing, spirited characters and commensurate performances, sharp dialogue, and all the excellence we'd assume of the name, Roman numerals or not. To that, add some splendid stunts and effects in keeping with the premise. 'II' definitely earns some laughs. Yet where in the first film the grand hilarity was paired with gratifying earnestness in the storytelling, we get nothing more than faint glimmer, here, of the latter. And hey, in that this means augmenting the farce, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. However, in place of sincerity, what we often get instead in this case feels like a level of cruelty in the writing exceeding the base prejudice with which in-law Simon Charrier was written the first time around. There are elements here of homophobia, fatphobia, ageism, and otherwise ugly condescension, gawking, dehumanization, and nastiness - in the dialogue, in how Renato and Albin are written, and in how others react to them - that feel less like 'La cage aux folles' and more like 'American History X.' More infrequently does the heart shine through, and the best cleverness; more commonly, it almost comes across that this sequel is just punching down to laugh at rather than with the queer community that it celebrated two years before.Don't take my harsh words to suggest that this picture is bad, because that's certainly not true. I really did have a good time watching! Both as an absurd continuation of the saga of renato and Albin, and as an oblique variation on the Euro spy comedy, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't fun. But the entertainment just isn't as strong as it was before; there are even a couple points where the writing seems a tad forced, as if writers Marcello Danon, Jean Poiret, and Francis Veber were themselves struggling to make the assemblage work even on paper. By and large it's better than not, including superb filming locations, production design, costume design, and hair and makekup. I appreciate Morricone's score, Armando Nannuzzi's cinematography, and Molinaro's direction. Some moments are downright brilliant. The fact remains that anyone hoping for a genuine successor to what 'La cage aux folles' gave us are apt to be disappointed; as much as I do like this, I wonder if I'm not being too kind in my assessment. In any event, no matter how you slice it this is overall decent, and there are certainly worse ways to spend one's time. 'II' isn't an essential classic like 'I' is, and in some ways it's pointedly weaker - but if you can get on board with the abject frivolousness, it's still worthwhile on its own merits if you happen to come across it.
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Reviewed by Progger1953 8 / 10

Ana Magnani

I love this movie, the scenery, the music etc... But old foreign movie critic friend of mine back in the early '80s suggested to me that Michel playing the haggard Italian lady was a salute to Ana Magnani. I've seena few movies of her. And Michel really did a great job.

I'm from Avellino Italy and I came over in 1956. So. In our Italian American villages we didn't have running water so we had to pump the drinking water and have rain barrels around our houses to save it for washing clothes. It was great for your hair too.

My Italian grandmother and mother would act like him when they were toiling with their chores.

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