La jaula de las locas

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.

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.

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.

I first saw La Cage Aux Folles after its American remake "The Birdcage". This was unfortunate because that meant the plot was already familiar to me. However, it was even more hilarious than its American version. The characters in the American version are nearly exact duplicates of their French counterparts. Somehow, the whole movie appears funnier in its original French (even though I don't speak French).

American audiences may like the remake better because the script was rewritten so that its humor was more topical. For instance, Gene Hackman's character is an obvious farce of Bob Dole, who was a prominent republican leader at the time. The French version contains a more generic conservative versus liberal dialogue.

However, if you can stand reading the translations, La Cage Aux Folles is well worth your time. I enjoyed it thoroughly.