The Birdcage (1996) centers around the world of Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) a gay man who owns a nightclub with his partner, Albert Goldman (Nathan Lane). Their son, Val, becomes engaged to a young woman whose parents are about as uptight as they come. Afraid of judgement from his fiancee’s parents, Val asks his dads to “act straight” for an evening when the two sets of parents meet.
While watching this movie in a modern world, there are many things that seem borderline offensive or at best are rude stereotypes of gay men. While both Lane and Williams are very talented and hilarious, it feels a little offensive. Despite this, The Birdcage was actually monumental for its era. This was one of the first time in movie history that a film portrayed a non-problematic (for the most part), healthy, family who happened to have same-sex parents. This was extremely important in portraying LGBT+ people in a positive light, especially after the incorrect stigmas that arose from the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s.
By: Michaela Clem Jacobs
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