The Birdcage Essay, Research Paper

The Birdcage

The landscape in the movie, The Birdcage, adds tremendously to the plot and humor of the film. The movie opens with a transvestite singing in a nightclub. We can almost predict at this point, from the setting alone, what the theme of this film is.

South Beach, Florida is the perfect setting for the Birdcage (a homosexual nightclub) because it has a vast gay community. Albert and Armand Goldman are the owners and live in a mansion attached to this club. Albert is a transvestite and Armand is his gay partner. The couples house has a conspicuously gay flair to it. Armand has a son, Val, whom he had with his wife before he discovered his homosexual identity. Val is getting married to the senator s daughter (Ally McBeal) and he and his wife are very conservative. Val has a mission to transform his father s mansion and take down the gay decorum for a special dinner party. The house has many obvious art pieces in it such as a statue of a naked man, a transvestite picture, and creatures with huge packages. Agador, the blatantly gay maid, dances around the house in womens clothes and needs to change his ways before the dinner.

The landscape of the house when the two couples meet adds to the levity of the scene. Mr. and Mrs. Keely arrive at South Beach and their first sight is of two men rollerblading with thongs and adds to their suspicion. Many aspects of the party go wrong such as the dishes, which feature gay boys having sex. Albert dresses as Val s mother and his real mother shows up also. This eventually leads to the Keely s finding out the truth that Albert is really a drag queen.

As the movie concludes, Senator Keely starts to accept Albert and Armond for who they are. In fact, Mr. and Mrs. Keely dress up as transvestites themselves to escape nosy reporters form attacking them with inquiries. In essense, the landscape of The Birdcage and the feminine apartment created a humorous storyline.