71
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe film is so boisterously entertaining that it's easy for the unsuspecting viewer not to realize that there's a message here.
- 80NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenEveryone will be tickled pink by this sleek Mike Nichols remake.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinAn American remake with plenty of new pizazz.
- 80The New YorkerThe New YorkerOddly, the funniest performer here is Gene Hackman, playing an aggressively straight, family-values-spouting politician. Hackman's deadpan inanity is sublimely comic.
- 80Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonOne of the loopiest, most hysterical family-values movies ever made.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWhat makes Mike Nichols' version more than just a retread is good casting in the key roles, and a wicked screenplay by Elaine May.
- 75USA TodaySusan WloszczynaUSA TodaySusan WloszczynaLight as a feather. [8 March 1996, p.D1]
- 70Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonA spirited remake of the French drag farce, has everything in place, from eyeliner to one-liner.
- 63San Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserSan Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserWhile Birdcage has many isolated funny moments, long bits of slowness interrupt the energy.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannA glossy miscalculation.