La Cage aux Folles (1979)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Yes, 10 out of 10. Considering this is my first review, you might think my concept of the ratings method is somewhat juvenile, that I'm not taking it seriously or that my bar is low! But I assure you, I understand what 10 out of 10 means. This movie has been special to me since the first time I saw it in 1979, here in Toronto at the Uptown Theatre, which I'm sad to say no longer exists. I'll never forget how much these characters touched me. This movie is so camp, so hilariously funny that it's easy to forget it's really a love story. When you take away all the laughter and farce, that's what's left, a story about tolerance and love. If you delve even deeper than the obvious, you'll notice the characters who are judged and ridiculed the harshest are the ones, who in the end, tolerate and even save those doing the judging and the ridiculing! I think it's this kind of movie that accomplishes a mountain of understanding without even trying. Love is everywhere, even in places some might think it doesn't belong...it flourishes. Not only does it flourish, but it's healthy, normal and accepted wherever it's found. And that's how a movie that is NOT a message movie becomes a message movie! So there! :o) I was really sad to discover that Michele Serrault, who played the title role of Albin/ZaZa, passed away in July of 2007, leaving behind a wife and a daughter. I also had no idea what an acclaimed actor he was in his native France. He's so strongly associated with his portrayal of ZaZa that I couldn't see him playing anyone else, and I'm sure I'm not alone! I wonder how he felt about being so closely associated with ZaZa, almost to the exclusion of all the other work he did. I imagine that's only in North America though. We're the ones who discovered him as ZaZa Napoli and because he touched our hearts so deeply we can't envision him playing Othello or Hercules! OK, I'll speak for myself! I can't envision him playing Othello or Hercules, OK?! I'm looking forward to seeing him in other roles. I might not like the idea of him playing anyone other than ZaZa, but I'll give him a chance! After all he IS an actor right?!

I had never watched this because I only owned it in French without subtitles (though it's been shown several times on Italian TV over the years) but did catch the inferior first sequel dubbed in English; to be honest, I'm not particularly interested in checking out the Americanized version – even after acquainting myself with the original (soon after co-star Michel Serrault's passing).The film is well acted (by Serrault, Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Galabru) and very funny, though no masterpiece; it seems surprising now that a 'vulgar' farce would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Direction – that said, there's no denying its originality and style and, in any case, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES epitomized the 'alternative' gay lifestyle and immediately became the prototype of such films.To my mind, the two best gags are: Tognazzi showing his manliness by picking on a dwarf for an offence directed at his lover Serrault (with the little man nonchalantly pointing to the big guy behind him as the real culprit), and the homosexual couple's black manservant (similarly inclined) bursting into laughter at seeing Serrault trying to pass himself off as Tognazzi's wife: the latter's son by a chance encounter is getting hitched and has brought his fiancé to meet the 'family' – the trouble is that the girl's father, Galabru, happens to be an MP with a party dedicated to preserving Moral Order! Unfortunately, the film's ending – the celebration of the wedding (following the fracas at the nightclub which, predictably, sees Galabru in drag) – is rushed and fairly lame when compared to what has gone on before.I know the last entry in the series wasn't very good and, really, this should have been left as a one-off; incidentally, Tognazzi made another popular sequence of comedies around this same time (all of which I still have in my 'unwatched VHS' pile) – AMICI MIEI – which Pietro Germi initiated but Mario Monicelli took over after the latter's death, and with the third and final outing helmed by Nanni Loy.

The issue between this film and its American remake, "The Birdcage", is not whether the second film glossed over the issues of homosexuality. French culture in 1978 simply did not allow a diplomat's daughter to marry the son of a nightclub owner, regardless of whether or not the nightclub was a drag club or not, or regardless of whether or not the diplomat was the secretary of the Union for Moral Order. Molinaro's point about Albin as a drag queen and Renato as his partner was made quite well, and several of the scenes where Albin "goes straight" are quite funny--but they weren't really the point of the movie. But this film couldn't be PERFECTLY remade, retaining all of the original facets of the French movie. Mike Nichols couldn't possibly have made a comparison about the two cultures clashing in the film, in 1996 America. ANYWHERE in 1996 America, for that matter, not just "South Beach" Florida. If you criticize the movie on those grounds, it's not quite fair. Molinaro's original was made to amplify the horror of the culture clash, by using a gay pair as the groom's parents. Nichols' remake is meant to ONLY accentuate the fact that Armand and Albert are liberally gay--flagrantly so--and not that they aren't in Kevin Keeley's class. The original is better for audiences who want something deeper and more meaningful, in that sense; but it doesn't mean that the remake is any worse for it. "La Cage" is less of a farce than "Birdcage", and that was intentional. I give both about the same rating--that is, excellent.

Great classic comedy by Molinaro. The movie was breaking with the rule at the time. Of course, the characters are presented in a stereotyped kind of way, but I think it was appropriate at the time. The farcical set-up helped bringing crowds. And somehow, I'm sure the gay cause moved a step forward with this movie. Some scene are simply hilarious. I can't tell you how I found the toast scene funny! And try to walk like John Wayne! But I would agree that the second half was a lot more funnier than the first. Never the less. Serrault is excellent. But he's not alone: so is Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Galabru. I love that guy, ever since, as a kid, I watched him in the Gendarme series with Louis DeFunès.Excellent musical score by Ennio Morricone. Gotta love it!A comedy to enjoy many, many times.Out of 100, I gave it 82. That's good for *** out of ****.Seen at home, in Toronto, on November 6th, 2004.