User reviews

I don't care what country you are from or what your sexuality is, La Cage Aux Folles is an endearing comedy the likes of which comes around perhaps once a decade.

Michael Serrault is the centerpiece of the film, as the star of the La Cage revue and the "mother" of the young man wishing to marry the daughter of an incredibly "moral" politico. The toast scene had me rolling on the floor...Serrault's high-pitched nervous yelps punctuate the film's comedy.

One of the few cult films really deserving of that status, La Cage is not one to be missed.

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.

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.

Absolutely classic French bedroom farce, hilarious from start to finish. Oft-told tale about two gay lovers whose son wants to marry a politician's daughter, and the lover's attempt to straighten out for one night. So far there are two sequels, a musical version, and an inferior American remake ("The Birdcage" with Nathan Lane and Robin Williams), but this is the original, the only, the funniest, the best.

Don't let the subtitles intimidate you, this is hilarious, this is the best, this movie RULES.

Like many Americans, I saw the remake "Birdcage" first. Only recently did I get a copy of the original. "La Cage aux Folles" is a great comedy, well deserving of its praise and classic status; I just wish I had seen it before I saw "Birdcage".

The reason is (through no fault of the original French filmmakers and actors), the American remake is one of the few films that did a good job of suiting it for American audiences. They got some of the most recognizable and endearing actors, and they really played on the humor of America's brutal division between Conservatives and Liberals. In other words, it hits home.

"La Cage" carries more of a nostalgic distance, in the fact that it's both European and an older 70s film. Like watching "Casablanca", you can get engrossed in the film, but you never quite picture yourself in context ...especially when you keep thinking of Robin Williams and Nathan Lane who both did an excellent job of staying true to the original characters played by Tognazzi and Serrault.

OK, enough irrelevant comparisons. I just wanted to get that out first, in case you're pondering whether to watch "La Cage" or "Birdcage" first. Definitely start with "La Cage".

"La Cage aux Folles" is simply fabulous. With a screenplay by Francis Veber, whose pinpoint comedy and wit makes him a modern day Moliere, you can't go wrong. Gags are handled with the perfect finesse, even the corny slapstick ones. The scene where Michel Serrault is learning (very unsuccessfully) how to butter his toast "like a real man" had me howling. I can't imagine how Ugo Tognazzi could keep a straight face.

Other memorable gags happen throughout the film, and whether you're French, American or Martian, you've got to understand the universal language of comedy. Serrault's high pitched yelp gets my vote for funniest and most infectious sound uttered by a human since Homer Simpson's "D'OH!" The story itself, while purportedly being about drag queens of loose moral character (haha), is safe, clean and absolutely fun for the whole family. Sexuality aside, it's simply a classic comedy of errors that anyone can enjoy.

Already considered a mainstream cult classic, "La Cage aux Folles" ranks as one of the biggest crossover box-office hits ever to land on American soil. And for very good reason. Italy's Ugo Tognazzi and Gallic Michel Serrault are the most inspiring and oddest couple to appear on screen since Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and just as entertainingly colorful as Siegfried & Roy!

Tognazzi essays the role of Renato, a suave, successful, over-the-hill cabaret owner whose nightly drag revues spotlight his long-time partner Albin (who goes by the stage name "Zaza"), a touchy, temperamental, hopelessly mincing diva who has got to be seen to be believed. A neurotic wreck most of the time, Zaza (Serrault) is a full-time job for the exasperated Renato, needing constant coddling and stroking when it comes to "her" age (she's up there), figure (a deep fondness for chocolates hasn't helped), and affairs of the heart (they are celebrating their 20th year anniversary, but the invariably jealous Albin/Zaza is sure Renato is playing around while she's performing). Getting the insecure Zaza on stage every night usually includes your usual number of psychoanalytical sessions, shoe-throwing tirades and prescription medicines.

The fun begins after Renato's son, Laurent, conceived during a temporary moment of heterosexual abandon ("you should try everything once"), informs his father of his plans to marry -- a girl! The daughter of a staunch, right-wing bureaucrat whose political party is in the midst of a shocking moral scandal, Laurent is obligated to introduce her priggish parents (who think a big traditional wedding could restore the party's reputation) to his "straight" parents. The fiancee has passed them off as a respected cultural attaché for the Italian embassy and a Catholic housewife/mother of six.

The resulting farcical set-up unleashes a barrage of priceless comic moments as the pair must not only refurnish their "gay-ly" luxorious apartment, which is right above the nightclub, but pass themselves off as heterosexuals. The crème de la crème of all scenes takes place at a restaurant where the somewhat more virile Renato instructs Albin how to drink tea, butter toast, and walk butch á la John Wayne! The dinner party segment too is absolutely crammed with riotous sight gags, especially the erotically-designed soup bowls and shoeless butler bits.

The cast is impeccable. Serrault and Tognazzi are to be cherished for pulling off such an acting coup. Under normal circumstances, these two roles could be hammy, forced and quite offensive. But in the hands of this pair, they are not only funny, but credible and even touching. Serrault, in particular, is a marvel, with every gesture, tone and vocal inflection coming from a real emotional center, while Tognazzi's charming boulevardier provides the perfect "straight" man to Serrault's antics. Together, their "I am what I am" message really hits home. You believe these two as a couple. You believe their longevity. You believe their spats. You believe their devotion.

Michel Galabru and Carmen Scarpitta are superb as the strict, moral-minded parents who slowly come to the horrifying realization that all is not right with their prospective son-in-law's family. Benny Luke has some wonderfully outré moments as the gay couple's barefoot live-in "French maid" who dusts the house in skimpy hot pants and very little else. Claire Maurier is effective as Laurent's estranged mother, who tries to get back in Laurent's good graces by agreeing to be part of the dinner party charade.

Two lesser sequels and an abominable American remake cannot tarnish the beauty of the original. WARNING: When renting this video, make sure you rent the version with sub-titles, not the inferior English-dubbed version. Much of Michel Serrault's magic is in his voice.

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.

"La cage aux folles" is a brilliant comedy. It is the film upon which "Bird Cage" with Robin Williams is featured. One should not miss this classic expose of trans sexual entertainment. The novelty of such sexual innuendos was rare in 1978 when this picture was released. If is followed by an equally funny comedy, "La cage aux folles II", another film to be added to the must see category. One does not even require the translations across the bottom of the screen. One can simply enjoy the artistic perfection of pure cinematic comedy as presented visually. The French subtitles are well adapted. The scenery is clever. The cast is perfect. Don't miss this great comedic success.

The first time I saw "La Cage ax Folles" was in my French film class and I loved it. Michell Serrault became my favorite French actor after watching this comedy. He is really great and I could not stop laughing. You don't even have to speak nor understand French too much, because just looking at him makes you laugh. Another factor that contributes a lot to the good acting of the two lovers are fabulous costumes. My favorite one was the heart-shaped one worn by the butler, but they were all great. I have also seen the American remake of this film "The Birdcage" and I have to tell you that it doesn't even compare to the original. There are more part of La Cage aux Folles, but the first one is the best of all and I would definitely recommend it.

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.

The remake "the Birdcage" is one of my favourite films. I first watched it with pals while one of our friends was in bed with migraine. Just after we finished watching it she left her sickbed to see what we were laughing about so much. So that she didn't feel left out we watched it again straight away and laughed even more. I have watched it again several times and always enjoy it.

Yesterday I watched La Cage Aux Folles. This was on Netflix and had English dubbing. It often seemed stilted and flat. At times some of the characters came across as uncomfortably angry rather than comedy angry. I have wanted to watch the original for a long time as it is so well spoken of. I can only conclude that the dubbing must have robbed the film of its soul.

This cult classic deserves its reputation. I saw it many years ago at a film festival and have loved it ever since.....I grabbed up a video as soon as it became available. It appears, that in the last few years, some critics are finding fault with the film but in my opinion it has held up well.

The two main characters and the actors that play them are priceless. Ugo Tognazzi, one of my favorite Italian actors,is so suave and world-weary as Renato, the stronger of the couple. Michel Serrault is a nervous, overwrought, insecure prima donna who squeals and minces his way through life and will have you falling off the couch with delight. Although there is not a lot of affection shown between the two, the underlying strength of their relationship is evident.

One warning......do not see the dubbed version of this film!! It is most unsatisfactory. The sub-titled version at least retains the voices of the actors which is part of the appeal of the film. If you speak French, please see the original...many of the lines do not translate well to English and contain nuances that are not present in the translation. Whichever version you see (sub-titled or original), it will be a viewing experience that will bring tears of laughter....it's a joy!

I was literally dragged to this movie in the late 1970s, at an "Art" theatre (left pinky up in the air) no less. Needless to say, I didn't want to go. For crying out loud, I'm an ex-jock.

Well, I'm glad (this time) my friends insisted. I doubled over laughing; at the time, this was risque material (nobody wore sunglasses into the theatre, if I remember correctly, but still) that didn't interest me one way or another. But somehow, someway the writer, director and actors made you care about these two men and their dilemma. The champagne scene almost caused me to bolt for the men's room.

I never did see Robin Williams remake. What for?? It was done to perfection by this film crew. Winner of best Foreign Film Oscar, I believe, 1978.

Renato Baldi is the owner of a Saint-Tropez drag nightclub. His lover Albin Mougeotte is the highly-emotional star performer. Renato's son Laurent invites his fiancée Andrea and her conservative political parents home for dinner. She had lied to her parents about Laurent's parents. It doesn't help that her judgemental parents are facing a political scandal themselves. Renato and Albin have to fake it to make it.

I watched the American remake first and didn't like it. I've never found flamboyant gayness automatically funny. There is still that in this movie, but I like this gay couple. They feel very human to me. When Albin does old matron, it's actually funny. It's not the cross-dressing. It's the old that's funny. There is so much more darker materials being tackled and mocked. I like this more than the American version.

An riotous French chamber farce, I have already watched LA CAGE AUX FOLLES II (1980, 7/10), now finally come across the original one which would spawn a Hollywood remake THE BIRDCAGE (1996) by Mike Nichols and stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane reprise the iconic couple Renato and Albin (Tognazzi and Serrault). It had remained No.1 foreign film in USA box-office for years and nominated for 3 Oscars (BEST DIRECTOR, SCREEN PLAY and COSTUME DESIGN).

Albeit the film's generic "Meet Your Parents" plot-line, director Molinaro pluckily engineers the sub-culture of homosexuality and transvestite, Renato is the owner of a smoke- enshrouding drag club "La Cage Aux Folles" which is infamous for its alternative performance and target clientèle, and Albin, his partner for twenty-years, is a woman trapped in a man's body and also the premier star of the show. One night Laurent (Rémi Laurent), Renato's 20-year-old son, arrives and announces that he will marry her sweetheart Andréa (Maneri) and her parents is coming for dinner the next day, the trick is that Andréa's parents Simon (Galabru) and Louise (Scarpitta) belong to an ultra-moralistic party who just recently lost their president in a prostitute scandal. Under the grilling, Andréa lies about Renato's real identity and claims him to be a cultural attaché, so to counterbalance the bad image of the party, they decide to operate "a perfect marriage" and meet Laurent's parents.

Things turn into a predictable but hysterical stew accordingly, Albin makes a fuss of the exclusion of him in the dinner and Renato has to ask aid from Laurent's birth mother Simone (Maurier), which lights up the jealousy of Albin. But, eventually, the farce will meet its moment of truth. Through and through, all the gags are incredibly conceived (including those with Jesus on the cross), and what's more gratifying the sublime rapport between Tognazzi and Serrault, together they can make the corniest jest scintillate with vigor and induce involuntary laughters without a hitch. It is a grand showboating for Serrault in particular, his mincing mannerism and effeminate verbal-ism has been unrivaled since, a true trailblazer for the now stocky stereotype of feminine gay man. To elevate the contrast in beliefs, Galabru also goes out on a limb to caricature and ends up with a side-splitting cross-dressing for amusement. Not to mention Benny Luke as the sissy black butler, who cannot wear shoes because they are trip-easy.

Ennio Morricone's prominent score triumphantly conjures up the upbeat ambiance and tallies with the performance adroitly to indicate the characters' predicament or ridicule. Indeed, the film is a timeless uproar, and its winning magnetism can appreciated ubiquitously.

This French farce lacks the energy and whimsy of the 1996 Mike Nichols remake, "The Birdcage." Perhaps it's a cultural difference, but the original "La Cage aux Folles" seems to take itself too seriously, and moments that were uproarious in the Nichols version aren't very funny here. I suppose some might say that Americans need their humor to be broader and more obvious in order to appreciate it, but whatever.

It's hard to understand now how bold this subject matter -- transvestites, openly gay lifestyles, etc. -- was for 1979, and that probably has played a large role in the life this film has had since (thanks largely also to the hit Broadway musical based on it).

I bet people who saw the original first like it better than "The Birdcage," and vice versa.

Grade: B

So flamboyant, decadent … and truculent … "La Cage aux Folles" (or "Birds of Feathers" in Shakespeare's language) is one of the sweetest and most delightful synopsis' of French Cinema: a gay couple, one's son who wants to marry the daughter of a right-wing conservative whose political reputation is severely tarnished by a sexual scandal, at the end, two set-ups that brilliantly culminate during a memorable dinner where the two gay men must pretend to be straight.

That's "Birds of Feathers", a sumptuously designed, magnificently orchestrated and superbly acted, French-Italian comedy. And I insist on the "French-Italian" branding because the dual nationality shows in every detail.

* The director is French: Edouard Molinaro who specialized in comedies of errors BUT the setting is a beautiful rendering of the traditional Comedia Del' Arte with this "underground" ambiance that lets our warmest and craziest fantasies bloom the time of a night.

* The film is in French language, with a mainly French cast BUT it possesses an incomparable Fellinian flavor exuding from the atmosphere of the titular burlesque cabaret 'La Cage aux Folles', a circus of zaniness where transvestites parade jovially and naturally, in an oasis of freedom disclosed from the worlds' conventions.

* And naturally, there's the iconic tandem that 'made' the film: the Italian Ugo Tognazzi and the French Michel Serrault, two icons in their respective countries, the Alpha-male and the eternal clown. One of these exquisite ironies is that Tognazzi was renowned for his macho roles, but he gave his most defining performance as Renato Baldi, the cabaret manager and companion of Albin aka Zaza Napoli.

* And as Zaza Napoli, Michel Serrault reaches the peak of his comical talent, providing his most hilarious performance rightfully awarded by a César (French Oscar). His pairing with Tognazzi is not just the typical funny-guy and straight man duo, so to speak, but something more poignant or melancholic, always endearing. Indeed, as we watch them arguing and reconciling, we never doubt that these men lived for 20 years and that they love and care for each other.

This is another point to insist on, because it will probably raise the most criticism. The complicity between Serrault and Tognazzi is crucial, not only because Tognazzi took the role that belonged to Serrault's all-time partner Jean Poiret (who co-wrote the original play with the famous screenwriter Francis Veber), but also because the contrast between the two men, is the key to appreciate and enjoy Serrault's over-the-top performance.

Yes, Serrault acted like a drama queen or capricious diva, but wasn't he annoying for Renato as well? Or the whole 'Birds of Feathers' crew for that matter? It is possible that "Birds of Feathers" is dated, campy or have this 70's vintage feel that didn't embarrass itself with conventions and stereotypes. And this is an argument I don't want to get sucked into, for a simple reason, the very remake, made in the 90's, in an era that wasn't deprived from political correctness, used the same concept, the same acting and the same stereotypes, because the director, Mike Nichols, understood that Albin's personality was the very device to make the whole intrigue believable.

And that's to the credit of the screen writing: would you believe an effeminate man like Albin could pass as a virile John Wayne's like figure or maybe would it be more believable for him, to impersonate a woman? Granted the film isn't "Tootsie", and belongs more to the "Some Like it Hot" category, still, any cross-gender story requires some suspension of disbelief. And there is something absolutely irresistible in the couple formed by Renato and Albin, and their interactions with Renato's son who's just announced his intent to marry … a girl. If Albin is adorable by overplaying his maternal side, leading to the ultimate disguise, Tognazzi deserves also a mention as the restrained figure of the film: a man who easily passes as a macho figure when compared to Albin, but doesn't fool anyone.

And the reason to be of "Birds of Feathers" blossoms during such hilarious moments where Renato teaches Albin how to act like a man, to smear butter in a toast, and not make a fuss over it getting pierced (Serraults' high-pitched reactions… oh the humanity!), to walk like John Wayne and so on and so forth. And the dinner is so full of moments where you expect the worst to come, and get even funnier when the masquerade works. Not quite so though, when the soon-to-be father-in-law, played by Michel Galabru notices some Greek men in weird position in the plates or Renato is startled by a sudden champagne pop, the comical timing is so perfect it would have made Billy Wilder jealous.

Now, is the film better or not than the remake? Well, it's not better simply because it's the original but because there's something more crafted in the film, the directing of Molinaro made of slow and suspenseful close-ups and tactful zooming and traveling, served by a joyful music from Morricone, gives the feeling that we're immersed in a whole new world. The film was Oscar-nominated in 1979 for Best Director, Best Costume Design and naturally Best Screenplay. And I guess Veber's name would ring a bell to movie fans for the writer is responsible for some of the cleverest and funniest French comedies of the last thirty years.

There are a few improvements in Mike Nichols' "Birdcage" especially in the father's character that was enriched through the performance of Gene Hackman, but overall, there's something classy that screams 'classic' in "Birds of Feathers", which fittingly became one of the most successful French film of the 70's, winning the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.

"Birds of Feathers" is to savor without moderation like a good Pistachio Macaron from Castel or gluttonously munch on like a toast with strawberries jam... God forbid you ever pierce it!

The acting is good but the script suffers from pacing problems. The film takes too long to get to the meeting of the 2 families and before you know it the film is over.

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.

"La Cage Aux Folles" (1978) must count as one of the first movies, internationally speaking, with at least one positive gay character in it, even if the other one tends to fall more into stereotype. Ugo Tognazzi's restrained performance has aged better than Michel Serrault's more flamboyant turn, but they are both masters of the body language. The film is a bit labored in setting up its basic premise, but once it does it is often hilarious: the "John Wayne walk" is laugh-out-loud funny, as is another scene involving a statue that loses a crucial part. There are some surprisingly touching moments as well, most notably a scene set at a train station. A minor classic. *** out of 4.

French-Italian co-production based on Jean Poiret's play about a drag queen and his lover hoping to pass as straights for the sake of the lover's son, who has announced he's getting married. In its time, a rather obvious sex farce, made even more so today in the wake of two sequels and the 1996 American remake "The Birdcage". Mixture of bitchy bickering, door-slamming slapstick, and semi-serious overtures regarding the kowtowing of gays to straights creates a bumpy cinematic rhythm. Worse, the overall results--though popular at the box-office--are undermined by a dreariness that never goes away. May prove fascinating for "Birdcage" enthusiasts eager to compare the two, but this version offers even fewer laughs, with dramatic outbursts awkwardly and embarrassingly staged. ** from ****