La Cage aux folles
Directed by Edouard Molinaro
Written by Edouard Molinaro etc from a play by Jean Poiret
1978/France
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime (free to members)
Simon Charrier: Louise, I’m the General Secretary of a political Party named Coalition for a Moral Order, whose President just died in the arms of a prostitute. Wait to see the journalists in a few hours.
Despite the egregious gay stereotyping, this remains a very funny film all these years later.
Renato (Ugo Tognazzi) and his long-term boyfriend Albin (Michel Serrault) own a nightclub featuring drag acts together. Renato acts as manager and Albin is its temperamental star. Things seem to be in chaos there.
Renato has a son, Laurent, from a fling. The boy has been raised by Renato and Albin. Lauren wants to marry the daughter of an ultra-conservative who is President of the Coalition for Moral Order. The fiancee tells him that her husband-to-be’s father is a cultural attache. The Coalition has been getting bad press and the fiancee’s family insists on meeting the parents.
Renato and Albin try various ways of fooling them into thinking they are a heterosexual couple. All end in disastrously hilarious ways.
The gags are all pretty hilarious but the subject matter was difficult and the film straddles the fine line beyond which it would simply be making fun of the characters. What makes everything work is the genuine love between the gay couple despite their bickering. This was one of the highest grossing foreign language films ever released in the US. Worth seeing if the subject matter appeals.
La Cage aux Folles was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Costume Design and Best Adapted Screenplay. Ennio Morricone wrote the charming score.
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