Fairy dust, Fairy dust, Fairy dust

And just like that we’re back to the fun stuff: films that are a celebration of queerness in all its forms. Today we will be discussing a cultural oxymoron in the film landscape. It’s simultaneously the least biting of the films we’re talking about but also maybe the most overtly confrontational.

Author

Tyler Clark
May 31, 2023

Good morning Consumers. This is Please Consume, the Film newsletter that loves you more than Ben Affleck loves being from Boston.

The Birdcage (1996)

And just like that we’re back to the fun stuff: films that are a celebration of queerness in all its forms.

Today we will be discussing a cultural oxymoron in the film landscape. It’s simultaneously the least biting of the films we’re talking about but also maybe the most overtly confrontational.

It’s the most dated film we’ll cover but also the one that has lasted the longest in the cultural zeitgeist. Plus, it’s the most ra-ra loud and proud on the list, but made by someone who would sadly never come out in their lifetime.

So let’s delve a little bit into the messy legacy of Mike Nicohls and The Birdcage.

An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May

This film has an absolutely fascinating creative team behind it, directed by Mike Nichols and written by Elaine May.

Fans of ours may recognize Elaine May from the countless times we bring her up (we do it alot) because she’s simply the coolest. But what many people may not know about her is that she used to be in a comedy team with Mike Nichols who directed Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe and The Graduate.

They both came out of a very early improv team called the Compass Players (a predecessor of the legendary Second City) and in many ways helped develop what we now know as American sketch comedy.

They would later break off and make their own team (Nichols and May) and revolutionize comedy forever. They made three perfect comedy albums and then broke up.

Nichols and May would continue to collaborate a handful of times through the years like they’re reunion on the Jack Paar program or performing at Jimmy Carter’s inauguration, but otherwise they went on their separate paths. That is, until they reteamed for this adaptation of the 1978 French film, La Cage Aux Folles.

The Heartbreaking story of Mike Nichols

As we said before Nichols and May broke up in 1961 and Nichols would later call the ending of their professional partnership the worst breakup of his life.

It must have been a motivating moment however, because Nichols would go on to become one of the most decorated directors of all time: eight Tonys, four Emmys, three BAFTAs, one Grammy, and an Oscar.

It wasn’t long before Nichols got his feet off the ground professionally, but personally he would continue to struggle with depression, feelings of loneliness, and heartbreak.

In his time on this earth he never came out as bisexual but in 2017 veteran studio photographer/director Norma Stevens spoke on Nichols ten year love affair with legendary photographer Richard Avedon.

There is something so heartbreaking yet beautiful about the fact that Nichols never came out yet made a film that is so loud and proud, a film that fought so hard for acceptance in the face of shame and bigotry.

Not to diminish the sadness of much of Nichols life, but he does have a happy ending. He met the love of his life, Diane Sawyer, in 1986 and would stay with her and parent four children till his passing in 2014.

His legacy lives on in continued acclaim, influence, and even being called “maybe the best comedy director ever on the stage” by Woody Allen (a bad guy).

Truthful Love on Screen

When watching this movie one thing shines through: love without reproach.

The love of a family, the love of a community, the love towards humanity. The film very poignantly ends with the song “We are Family” by Sister Sledge, and it speaks volumes because the film revels in the face of bigotry with rebellion and an uproarious declaration of love.

It shows the mundane everyday love of a couple, saying “yes they are gay, but there’s nothing weird about that. Marriage itself is inherently weird! At the end of the day, however, you may hate your spouse but you also love your spouse, fully and completely.”

There is not the flowery perspective of marriage that you would expect from a film normalizing gay marriage. It’s daily love, day in and day out. You choose your person because they are the only one for you. It’s normalization in how unradical it is; it's quite boring.

Okay maybe not boring, but mundane. Okay maybe not mundane, but we definitely get an understanding of how lived in these lives are.

Today’s Scene

With all this in mind, from Nichols upbringing in sketch comedy to the portrayal of everyday love, watch all these concepts come together in this scene.

The film does an incredible job of gelling together really nicely despite the fact it’s basically just a series of Nichols and May sketches performed by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. It’s funny, irreverent, at times outdated, but ultimately incredibly charming and wonderful.

Thanks, Mike Nichols, for the laughter and the lessons. You were, and are, one of the best there ever will be.

Stream It

If you want to watch The Birdcage at home, you can find it here.

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