Movie of the Week: ‘The Birdcage’

“The Birdcage” (1996) – Mike Nichols’ remake of “La Cage aux Folles” (1978) is a landmark LGBTQ film in American cinema, although looking back, this hit comedy – which raked in 185 million dollars worldwide – does have a troubling premise.  The mid-90s and 1978 were different times, so the story of a 20-year-old son asking his gay fathers, Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane), to act straight for one night to fool his fiancée’s conservative parents – perhaps – seemed like a semi-reasonable request to the American public…

Gere and Cedar make ‘Norman’ a definite BUY

“Norman” – $1,192.18 Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere), the struggling head of Oppenheimer Strategies – who usually wears an unflattering, light brown winter coat, a longshoreman’s cap and sports ear buds connected to his iPhone – makes an investment of $1,192.18 during an ordinary weekday in Manhattan.  Hoping that this cash outlay would land him future opportunities, his spontaneous action – in fact – earns him a life-changing seat at the table, the connected world of money, politics and access! Well, sort of. You see, Norman’s entire life seems to be…