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The Birdcage

The Birdcage

Comedy · Romance · 1996

A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's conservative parents.

Movie details

The Birdcage

“Come as you are.”

1996 Comedy · Romance 1h 59m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's conservative parents.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Birdcage?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mike Nichols

Written by

Elaine May

Robin Williams

Robin Williams

Armand Goldman

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman

Senator Kevin Keeley

Nathan Lane

Nathan Lane

Albert

Dianne Wiest

Dianne Wiest

Louise Keeley

Dan Futterman

Dan Futterman

Val Goldman

Calista Flockhart

Calista Flockhart

Barbara Keeley

Hank Azaria

Hank Azaria

Agador

Court is in session

Put The Birdcage on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.