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!
6 out of 6 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
