The Birdcage

Product Description Director Mike Nichols remake of La Cage Aux Folles, with Robin Williams as a subdued South Beach night club owner who's forced to ask his flamboyant, drag-queen lover to hide away while his son brings his future in-laws; an ultra-conservative couple for dinner. Hilarious and fresh, also starring Dianne Wiest, Gene Hackman, Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski. Running time: 119 minutes. Amazon.com The great improvisational comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May reunited to (respectively) direct and write this update of the French comedy La Cage Aux Folles . Robin Williams stars as a gay Miami nightclub owner who is forced to play it straight and ask his drag-queen partner (Nathan Lane) to hide out when Williams's son invites his prospective--and highly conservative--in-laws and fiancée to a meet-and-greet dinner party. Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest play the straight-laced senator and his wife, and Calista Flockhart (from television's Ally McBeal ) plays their daughter in a culture-clash with outrageous consequences. May's witty screenplay incorporates some pointed observations about the political landscape of the 1990s and takes a sensitive approach to the comedy's underlying drama. Topping off the action is Hank Azaria in a scene-stealing role as Williams's and Lane's flamboyant housekeeper, "Agador Spartacus." --Jeff Shannon