The Birdcage: Recasting The Movie Today

The Birdcage may be 25 years old, but it’s as relevant as ever. Mike Nichols’ LGBT comedy is a remake of the 1978 Franco-Italian film La Cage aux Folles and follows a gay couple—a drag club owner and a burlesque star—and the hilarity that ensues when their son Val brings home his fiance and her conservative parents.

The film, despite being a tense comedy of manners, has a lot of heart, and the characters have been given a lot of depth and layers and don’t come across as one-dimensional caricatures. The Birdcage could make for a seriously ambitious reboot if the film was re-imagined for modern audiences since there are so many relatable talking points and the premise is so engaging. Here’s how a The Birdcage reboot should be cast if it is made today:

8 Albert: Courtney B. Vance

Nathan Lane’s exceptional performance as Albert was one of the best things about The Birdcage and was possibly Lane’s finest performance on the big screen. Very few actors have the range to make this role their own, but The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story star Courtney B. Vance is definitely one of those actors.

Albert’s character was designed as a parent figure who is confident about who he is, yet anxious about how he is perceived by others. Despite not being Val’s biological parent, he loved him immensely which made the role so complex and endearing and Vance would be perfect to essay the character in a reboot.

7 Armand: Bryan Cranston

Interestingly, the late Robin Williams and Cranston share a similar brand of humor, which is grounded, humane, and quite cathartic. Williams played Armand, the owner of a drag club and Val’s father, who found himself lying about his sexual orientation to appease his son’s conservative would-be-in-laws.

The role requires someone who can channel comedic brilliance and pathos simultaneously, and Cranston has quite a bit of experience in that area and would be ideal to essay Armand. 

6 Agador: Arturo Castro

Hank Azaria was already an established comedian when he played the role of the quirky, effervescent housekeeper Agador, and his stellar comic timing and excellent improvisation skills were used remarkably well by the makers.

Broad City star Arturo Castro, who has also appeared in Narcos and has his very own comedy sketch show, would be perfect for the role. The role needs to be played by an actor who can make the character his own without taking away from the breeziness of Agador’s character design, and Castro would be the perfect pick

5 Val: Michael B Jordan

In The Birdcage, Val is the patient son who is grounded, self-aware, and also loves his family. When the film begins, he’s trying to find a way to introduce his burslesque club-owning gay parents to his fiance’s ultra-conservative family, who are also political bigwigs and are very conscious about their public image.

Dan Futterman plays this struggle subtextually, which was an excellent move, but it would be great to see how another actor would handle the moral dilemma of his character. Michael B Jordan would be a great pick to play someone like Val, who, despite his struggle, is proud of his family and encourages them to live authentically.

4 Senator Keeley: Michael Keaton

Let’s face it, there’s no character Michael Keaton couldn’t play and a role of this humongous comic potential should be a delicious challenge for him. Gene Hackman’s depiction of the conservative senator wasn’t just excellent, but also widely acclaimed. On the heels of a political scandal involving a peer and fellow senator, a nervous Senator Keeley arrives at the residence of the Goldman’s, whose son is engaged to their daughter.

Funnily enough, the Senator is as nervous about meeting the Goldmans as they are about meeting him. Keeley actually has to shoulder much of the action in the second part of the film, and the role obviously needs to be played by someone who can switch between shades seamlessly, and Keaton would be a great option.

3 Laura Linney: Louise

The iconic Dianne Weast was exceptional as Louise Keeley, a conservative Senator’s wife. At the end of the movie, Louise turns out to be far more progressive than the viewers assumed her to be, so the character has many layers. Ozark star Laura Linney would be perfect to essay this role, considering her impressive range.

A reboot could handle Louise’s role differently, it could flesh it out a bit more or make it moodier. Linney’s experience with dark comedies and her exceptional abilities to switch between shades could really help her out with this one

2 Barbara: Lana Condor

Lana Condor’s fans can’t wait to see her return to the screens, and this could be a great vehicle for the star. Ally McBeal star Callista Flockhart played Barbara, Val’s fiance who has been groomed since childhood to put her family’s image before her own feelings, so much so that her parents begin to plan her wedding as a damage control maneuver to get out of a political scandal.

Though she has her priorities right, Barbara finds herself lying to her parents about the truth of her fiance’s family. There is an excellent interplay of kindness, courage, and stealthiness in the role, and Condor could be a great option for the role of Barbara Keeley.

1 Katherine: Laura Benanti

Interestingly, Christine Baranski who played the role of Val’s biological mother Katherine on The Birdcage appeared alongside Broadway star Laura Benanti in an episode of Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show as they both played the former FLOTUS Melania Trump. The audiences couldn’t help but notice how these two Tony Award winners share the same brand of versatile comedy.

Katherine did not really have much to do in the film and appears in only very few scenes, but her arrival in the climax is basically what leads to the big reveal about the Goldmans. The reboot could use the character to introduce a different kind of dynamic; maybe something with a greyer shade, and it’d be interesting to see how Benanti plays it.

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