Even filmmakers of the status of Nichols and May (director Mike, writer Elaine) follow the crowd and go for inspiration to the French, and they do not go for something recherché: the low-brow gender-bender farce La Cage aux Folles. The major makeover: in order to "explain" why an engaged couple must hide the homosexuality of the groom-to-be's father, the bride-to-be's must be turned into a far-right Republican Senator (and V.P. of the Coalition for Moral Order) currently on the campaign trail. This adds more in the way of liberal editorials than plausibility, never mind humor. But if you think of the thing as essentially and simply a repertory piece, it's well played by its American cast, especially Nathan Lane, who makes a strong case that the temperamental drag queen (stage name: Starina) is a role he was born to play. Best bits, as in Edouard Molinaro's 1978 French version: the queen's crash course in playing it "straight." With Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest. (1996) — Duncan Shepherd
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