The Birdcage (1996) Dir: Mike Nichols

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This classic nineties comedy, directed by Mike Nichols, is amongst the most beloved examples of gay cinema to-date, and one that I've wanted and needed to watch for so long. As a member of the queer community, I am often starved of genuinely happy queer stories. So often, they are marred by tragedy and sadness, as though queer people are being punished for the very fact that they are queer. As such, the notion of seeing a happier, more fun, queer film excited me greatly.

And boy was this film fun. The costumes were brilliant and vibrant, the energy was light and entertaining, despite some heavier themes being discussed, and the comedy was wonderfully witty. For a film in the nineties, I thought it had aged surprisingly well, for the most part. It was admittedly quite heavy-handed on the stereotypes, but this was done in a way that benefitted the film's wider message and story.

The narrative unfolded in an extremely entertaining way, and gave plenty of room for the comedic talents of its cast to come to the fore and provide plenty of the laughs. I loved how easily the different aspects of the story fell into place, creating a delightfully enjoyable hotpot of comedy and light social commentary, which poked fun of everyone involved in a playful and fairly inclusive way.

The film could not have been as successful in its aims without the majestic and highly entertaining performances of the film's two leading men; Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. Williams was firing on all cylinders, hitting jokes and gags from every which way in that blink-and-you'll-miss-it, effortless and charming way that he was always able to fire out his comedy. He was also very capable when it came to the more touching and capable aspects of his role too - no surprises there - the man was superb.

Lane is so good at producing eccentric, flamboyant, and humorously camp characters, and this was, without question, one of his most memorable. He ruled the screen with glittery and dramatic poise, conjuring many of the film's biggest laughs with tremendous ease. Lane aced the loud and over-the-top nature of his character, and gave the film some of its best jokes and deliveries. He was very much the queen of the screen.

Gene Hackman got the awkward insecurity of his character just right, and he very much played off of the absurdity of Lane and Williams with the kind of humour that you would expect from such an iconic actor. I also really enjoyed Dianne West's comedic scenes, especially during the dinner party sequence, in which her facial expressions were incredibly amusing and memorable.

Dan Flutterman and Calista Flockhart did well to play the young lovers of the film, providing some very sweet moments, particularly when Flutterman interacted with Williams towards the beginning of the film. Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski also provide a number of entertaining moments during their respective scenes.

Overall, I am so glad that I finally watched this 90's classic - I absolutely loved it. It was so funny and so high-energy, making it an extremely easy watch. Within minutes of it starting, it was abundantly apparent why it was such a queer classic - a notion that only strengthened with every passing scene. There are a number of great queer films out there, but few are as unwaveringly funny and lighthearted as this one. I haven't had so much fun watching a film like this in a long time.