Every single second of Hank Azaria in this movie is solid gold.

It’s very interesting, when the movie came out, the sentiment was “why can’t he do this small favor for his son?”  and now it’s “how can he even ask that of his dad?”

Nice to see times changing

One of my favorite Robin Williams facts come from Nathan Lane. While they were doing press for the show Nathan was not Out, but during an interview on Oprah she seemed to latch onto something and was pushing him in a way that he felt very uncomfortable and like he might accidentally out himself. You can also see Robin Williams very suddenly look over see the expression on Nathan's face and immediately cut them off with a joke and completely redirect the interview to spare his friend.

My fav scene is when Albert goes shopping and orders a cake etc,  all the ppl he meets know him and seem to genuinely like him, he’s accepted by his community and it warms my heart so much

“Ahh fuck the shrimp!”
Is something I say often if given the opportunity and no one knows where it comes from.

I host a Robin Williams birthday party every year, and this is the film we watched this year. Such a treasure.

If I remember correctly, Robin Williams was originally offered the part of Albert - but he'd just done Mrs. Doubtfire and did not want to do back-to-back films in drag. He loved the script though and instead of passing on the film, he offered himself to play the role of Armand instead. This allowed Nathan Lane to land the role of Albert. As you can imagine, it's hard to upstage Robin Williams in a film... but this is one of the only movies where it happened - because Nathan Lane really stole the show here.

"When the schnecken beckons.." 😂 I quote this movie constantly. Being a baby gay in the 90s, there weren't many happy gay movies for us. This, 'To Wong Foo', 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' were the few that allowed me hope that maybe things would turn out alright 🥹

48:43 Robin slipped and fell for real and was trying SO. HARD. to not laugh 🤣 That's why he just keeps quietly yelling at Hank. Watch the scene again and look at everyone's faces. It's my favorite part 😂❤

This is one of the movies that makes me feel in such a real way...Robin Williams really dug his fingers into the reality of a man like Armand and I think his quiet moments with Val & Albert make the wild camp of the movie feel grounded.  I think your genuine delight with media is a perfect complement to this film!

Palimony was an attempt to give some legal protections to partners in a gay relationship, before same-sex marriage was legalized.  For instance, if one partner was hospitalized, perhaps dying, the other was not considered a "member of the family" in order to visit.  There were horror stories where a family had disowned the son or daughter and had nothing to do with that person for years, while the partner might have had a long strong relationship.  But in the end, if the patient was unconscious, the family could and did prevent the partner in to visit, and other the person died alone.

13:22 Nathan Lane's costume is an homage to Judy Garland. She had a comedic musical bit she'd do in character of a tramp or hobo.

i love how deep your empathy is for albert :)

The 'pirin tablets joke is still one of my all-time favorites ❤😂❤

RIP Robin Williams and Gene Hackman.

It is important to remember that many films have a theme of a person making the journey from childhood to adulthood, or of learning lessons, or of discovering truths about life or themselves. Val is only 20 and is the one in the film who makes that change. The girl’s parents may change somewhat but the film focuses more of the need for Val to become strong enough to stand up for the principles he knows are right. Some criticize this film because Val starts out as flawed, or self-centered, or had not achieved the qualities which the viewers wish everyone was born having. But films explore the changes we go through as we age and learn, and how we sometimes learn from making mistakes, and this film shows that journey with great humor, as well as sensitivity. Films about human perfection would not be nearly as interesting nor as honest.

One of the greatest privileges of my life was getting to work with Robin Williams. He had just a kind and gentle soul ❤

I lived in South Beach when they filmed this, back in '95/96. I was manager for the beach club that operated all the beach stations (chair rentals, drinks, snacks, etc).  The building where The Birdcage is was a closed down hotel at the time. They just painted it and remodeled the lobby. A lot of the shots from their apartment upstairs are a combo of different buildings in SoBe. It was really cool to see our neighborhood on the big screen. Another bit of trivia, they had to "lighten" all the outdoor scenes because it was completely overcast during the whole shoot, which was about a week.
The "market" where Albert goes shopping is a real location in SoBe, Española Way. A really cool street full of kitchy shops.
And yes, South Beach back then was exactly like that,  lots of beautiful peoples, lots of queer folk, lots of fun. I was in my early 20s and that was the time of my life.
Also, the scene at 1:10:43, where Robin Williams slips and falls in the kitchen, that was an accident. You notice the other two frozen, waiting for Robin's lead, Robin gets up and says "damn it, we're allright, we're alright!" meaning, keep rolling, you can even hear him trying not to chuckle when he says "goddamn you!".
Love this movie, great reaction!

Every time I see Robin in something, I am hit with that same wave… then the sudden realisation that I miss the jokes he would have made for these insane times we live in today and how much we could look up to him to get through it.

This movie is just as great and almost as relevant as when it was released, instant click and like for giving it a reaction!