Noch ein Käfig voller Narren

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.

"La Cage Aux Folles II" is not as good as the first part. It does score some points for not being a carbon copy of the original: it does try out some new things, like the classic espionage MacGuffin of the microfilm that various secret agencies are after, or a trip to Italy in seek of refuge. Ugo Tognazzi is still the perfect straight man (so to speak....), and Michel Serrault is possibly even better this time - he develops the character further, giving him a touch of melancholy. But the film is too sluggish and sprawling - it definitely feels longer than it is (99 minutes). Still worth seeing but not a "must". **1/2 out of 4.

This movie is worth a look, even though it lacks the same spark as its supremely hilarious predecessor.

(N.B., Michel Serrault who plays Albin in the La Cage movies plays the equally fey hairdresser in "The King of Hearts" starring Alan Bates)

I am not purposely skipped the first installment, just by coincidence, I could only found the sequel right now, soothingly enough, the omission itself does not spoil the fun of this French slapstick comedy made more than 30 years ago.

How many times one could laugh out loud watching a gay/transvestite film from beginning till the very end? What's more precious is without being tainted by vulgar gags sand abominable antics (especially immune of sex-relating perversions or individual sex- orientation humiliations).

Plot-wise, although devoid of certain logistics, everything serves up to the middle-age crisis in this gay-relationship, particularly the deterioration of Zaza Napoli's self-confidence (a remarkable performance from the late Michel Serrault), which wisely puts audience into a heartfelt milieu whereas the entire "mini-film case" merely functions as a backdrop, there is no worries about our protagonists' personal security, the only gory murder is underplayed by a poison-dart.

The odd-couple route stews in a series of set pieces which strive on the verge of platitude, yet the acting, literally Michel Serrault, does single-handedly overturns the unfavorable condition, also who could forget Benny Luke's transvestite black servant (who changes his dresses in each scene), whilst in the latter returning-to-Italy part, the contradiction is pure simple but effective, which leavens the situation into a more culturally universal understanding. Enrico Morricone's score also is a big selling-point for the film

Overall, this super-optimistic farce (I suppose it includes the entire series, there are three films in all) could easily outshines among myriads of melodramatic-sentimental gay genre films even they were made several dozens of years ahead.

Just when I thought they stopped making good movies sometime in the early seventies! This French film is absolutely priceless, hilarious and touching, full of social commentary and gender-busting chutzpah. Man pretending to be woman pretending to be man!!!!! Gays teaching straights how to walk gay!!! Inspired! Brilliant acting by everyone, especially the leads, fast action, not one boring moment, not at all catering to the average. I haven't seen the other two films. I can't wait to see them. This masterpiece is every bit as good as "The Odd Couple".