What are your favorite movies based on plays? My choice was The Birdcage.
Dynamic duo Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane)
1996's The Birdcage, directed by Mike Nichols and written by Elaine May, is an American remake of the 1978 film, La Cage aux Folles, which was an adaptation of the1973 play La Cage aux Folles. The action was moved from the original St. Tropez setting to South Beach, Florida, with virtually nothing lost in translation in this fast-moving farce. The story centers on a middle-aged gay couple, Armand (Robin Williams), who manages a drag club called The Birdcage, and his partner and star attraction, Albert (Nathan Lane). They have raised Armand's son, Val (Dan Futterman) who drops a bomb at his latest visit — he is going to marry his college sweetheart Barbara (Calista Flockhart), who happens to be the daughter of an uber-conservative senator (Gene Hackman). Val also has an outrageous request — he wants his father to play it straight for his in-laws-to-be.
The Birdcage starts off fast and funny and never really stops. All of the acting is fabulous (how could it not be?), and much is made of the amusing fact that both sets of parents, although very different in many ways, object to the match — because they think the kids are too young to get hitched. Nathan Lane is amazing as the paranoid, emotional diva Albert, and he is matched quip for quip by an unusually restrained, but also very funny Robin Williams. The two are perfectly matched, as they battle and dance around each other.
Albert: "Whatever I am, he made me! I was adorable once, young and full of hope. And now look at me! I'm this short, fat, insecure, middle-aged thing!"
Armand: "I made you short?"
Hank Azaria steals scenes right and left as their manservant Agador. Dianne Weist and Christine Baranski are fun as the senator's wife and Val's biological mother, respectively. The film is also great-looking, with bright colors and the Miami sunshine infusing many scenes. The Birdcage is not just pretty and funny - it also has something to say. It plays with some pretty extreme stereotypes, gay and straight, but manages to bring humor and real emotion to its characters. But mostly it's just a hoot, one of those movies to watch again and again, with comic set pieces that makes you laugh and squirm, even when you know what joke is coming next.
You can read the rest of the post and others' picks here.
What would be your favorite film to stage adaptations?
