La Cage aux Folles (film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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La Cage aux Folles (tr. The Cage of Queens or The Birdcage, lit. The Cage of Crazy Women or The Bird Cage) is a 1978 film adaptation of the 1973 LGBT play by Jean Poiret. It was directed by Édouard Molinaro. Like the play, the film tells the story of a gay couple - Renato, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his star attraction - and the adventures that ensue when Renato's son brings home his fiance's ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
The film won over audiences with its sight gags, uproarious complications, and a tender and touching conclusion. It ran for well over a year at the Paris Theatre, an art house cinema in New York City, as well as theatres throughout the country in both urban and rural areas. For years it remained the most successful foreign film to be released in the United States.
Plot
Like the play upon which it is based, the film tells the story of a gay couple – Renato Baldi (Ugo Tognazzi), the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin Mougeotte (Michel Serrault), his star attraction – and the madness that ensues when Renato's son, Laurent (Rémi Laurent), brings home his fiancée, Andrea (Luisa Maneri), and her ultra-conservative parents (Carmen Scarpitta and Michel Galabru) to meet them.