A wonderful gallic romp where even the most hardened must surely empathise with the ridiculous predicaments our protagonists weave themselves into. Probably Michel Serrault's greatest role to date, he is ably supported by Ugo Tognazzi. Oozing European style throughout. The American Bird Cage is a very poor imitation.

I have fond memories of this film. It played in Boston in 1979--back then I was a closeted high school kid. It played for over a year at a theatre in Boston and I was curious to see why. I somehow got in (the film was R rated and I looked about 14) and loved it! It was funny, uplifting, gay positive and made me realize there is nothing wrong with being gay. Seeing it again over 20 years later it's not as funny or uplifting as it once was but I still enjoyed it.

The plot is old hat and the movie is directed by the numbers but the script has some very funny lines and all the performances are great. Particularly funny are Michel Serrault (as the more feminine gay man) and Michel Galabru (as the minister of moral order). The final dinner party sequence is absolutely hysterical!

Some people have said this film has stereotyped gay characters and that Serrault's constant screaming is annoying. I disagree--I found nothing offensive about the characters (there are gay men like Serrault--I've met them!) and his screaming is actually pretty funny. A very good French farce--well worth seeing. Ignore the R rating--it only has that because of the subject matter (which was pretty risky for 1978). If it were rerated today it would easily get a PG-13.

Skip the two sequels and the Americanized remake "The Birdcage" in which they use the exact same script as the original--with all the same jokes and some bad new ones added in.

Two gay men living in St. Tropez have their lives turned upside down when the son of one of the men announces he is getting married. They try conceal their lifestyle and their ownership of the drag club downstairs when the fiancée and her parents come for dinner.

So this is apparently a French film (the language is French), with an almost all-Italian crew. So is it an Italian film? Well, whatever, it definitely has a European sensibility to it that is absent in the American remake.

This movie really was ahead of its time. The remake was ahead by a little bit, but seemed perfectly appropriate in its own way. Especially by casting Robin Williams, which allowed it to be more mainstream. Here we have almost the exact same story... but in 1978. Maybe Europe is more advanced, but this might have ruffled a few feathers.