SATURDAY, JULY 31 2021

the birdcage

With the short films Plus One and Nouvel An

As much a side-splitting farce as it is a commentary on America’s polarized political climate, The Birdcage is an uproarious physical comedy featuring a star-studded cast and a soundtrack straight out of a drag show. Celebrating its 25th anniversary year, the film stars Robin Williams as Armand, the owner of a gay nightclub, and a then-not-yet-out Nathan Lane as his husband and star drag performer Albert. When Armand's son announces his engagement to the daughter of an ultra-conservative, homophobic U.S. senator (Gene Hackman), he begs his dad to play it straight at a meet-the-parents dinner party – but Albert can’t resist camping it up. Elaine May’s whip-smart screenplay (adapted from the French classic La Cage aux Folles) plays out as a farcical battle between straight-laced prejudice and queer sexual freedom – a battle that audiences will still find familiar today.

We can’t imagine a better pairing than self-professed Birdcage stan Peter Knegt’s short film Plus One. It follows unlikely odd couple Calvin and Trish, who meet at the singles table at a wedding reception for two brides named Sara and Sarah. While Calvin tries to work up the courage to talk to a pair of handsome gay men, and Trish tries to avoid her ex-girlfriends, the two make the most of an event neither wants to be at. 

Coupled with Plus One in tonight’s shorts programme is Montreal filmmaker Marie-Ève Juste’s Nouvel An (A New Year), an intimate portrait of 20-something friends preparing for a New Year’s celebration while discussing self-image, desires, and gender representation over a dinner party. Clearly influenced by French New Wave filmmaking, Juste’s film oozes style in artful black and white, providing a meditative contrast to The Birdcage’s campier overtones.