Interesting that this had the same director as Mr. Mom, because Hanks and Michael Keaton were kind of interchangeable in the mid-eighties. It wouldn't surprise me if Keaton had been offered this movie at some point (or if the producers of, say, "Gung Ho" approached Hanks). Both started in television, broke out in movies around the same time, spent most of the eighties in forgettable comedies and scored career-changing smash hits (Big and Batman) just before the end of the decade.
If you'd asked me in 1989 who'd become the bigger star, I probably would have bet on Keaton (who's had an enviable career but not Tom Hanks biggest-star-in-the-world enviable).
And both broke out in early films directed by Ron Howard (Splash and Night Shift). Their everyman-cum-smartass demeanor was definitely similar. I would dare say that their respective personalities (high strung vs low key - I'm particularly thinking Beetlejuice and Big) started to develop in the mid-late 80s. Still love them both (but have always been a Keaton superfan - find me someone else that's seen Touch and Go, The Squeeze, and Pacific Heights in a steady rotation).
::True, Veber also wrote La Cage aux Folles, which was adapted into The Birdcage but that film’s relative cultural sensitivity can be attributed to director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May::
Actually, Veber deserves some credit for that, too, Nabin. His French comedies rarely translate well, but LA CAGE AUX FOLLES was a very important film in U.S. culture as the rare foreign comedy that was a huge hit in the U.S., earning $20.4M in 1978 dollars here, and becoming the film that opened the door for Conservative Middle-Aged Mothers like mine to toss their homophobia over their shoulders and accept that Gays Are People, Too!
If it makes you feel better, Veber was only one of four writers on LA CAGE..., and the movie was directed by Édouard Molinaro (another of the writers).
I think if you watch French comedies you kind of have to accept a certain ::Gallic shrug:: air of...how you say? Suspended Morality as part of the Oh-La-La! French character!
::stuffs a $20 bill in the "French Cliché" jar::
I fart in your general direction! Now go—before I taunt you a seconddd tahmmmeee...!
Tom Hanks is a comedy genius, but his early films are very hit and miss. There was Splash and Big, but there was also Volunteers, Bachelor Party, Bonfire of the Vanities, Dragnet and this among others. Each film was kept afloat by his charisma. His great movies were so great and he was so perfect in them that they papered over a large group of very bad movies.
BACHELOR PARTY was back when Hollywood was trying to use Hanks's sarcastic side and turn him into an easier-to-deal-with Bill Murray(!)—and it was, amazingly, a hit, making $38.4M on a $7M budget ($112,765,000 on a $20,556,000 budget today). While not a major hit 1987's DRAGNET also "made its bait back", to quote Aussie film historian Terry Frost, earning $66.7M on a $20M budget ($177,144,000 on a $53,716,000 budget today). Even VOLUNTEERS, while hardly a barnburner, made $19.8M on a $10M budget (depending on marketing, it was either a break-even or a disappointment)—but Hanks has BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES on his résumé which was an all-time fiasco, not even earning back a third of its $47M budget!
My parents rented "La Cage Aux Folles" when I was a young teen and it was uncomfortable but wildly entertaining to watch with the whole family. Another time we rented the original "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" (1972). Also pretty good. Based on this small sample, I began to see why Americans had a reputation for being prudish, especially about nudity.
I later watched this American remake, and it was terrible. And that's why I refused to see "The Birdcage". Why was it made at all, Americans just ruin French movies when they remake them, every time!
As it turns out: no, not every time. Just most of the time. See also: Point of No Return, the American remake of La Femme Nikita. Except, no, don't see that.
This all happened many decades ago so my memory is a bit fuzzy, so maybe "Point of No Return" wasn't actually terrible. In any case it was a far better movie than this One Red Shoe remake.
When this came out, or more correctly when HBO premiered and began airing it on a regular basis, I liked it. I had loved Splash and Bachelor Party, and while this was more low key than the others, I still found it amusing. To me, it was similar to The Money Pit (one of those minor comedies people forget Steven Spielberg produced, like Continental Divide or Used Cars). It was not my favorite film, but I still remember it vividly and even quote it occasionally - even if it's the muted "Mm-mm" when he hears the screams from the dentist office and leaves immediately.
Interesting that this had the same director as Mr. Mom, because Hanks and Michael Keaton were kind of interchangeable in the mid-eighties. It wouldn't surprise me if Keaton had been offered this movie at some point (or if the producers of, say, "Gung Ho" approached Hanks). Both started in television, broke out in movies around the same time, spent most of the eighties in forgettable comedies and scored career-changing smash hits (Big and Batman) just before the end of the decade.
If you'd asked me in 1989 who'd become the bigger star, I probably would have bet on Keaton (who's had an enviable career but not Tom Hanks biggest-star-in-the-world enviable).
And both broke out in early films directed by Ron Howard (Splash and Night Shift). Their everyman-cum-smartass demeanor was definitely similar. I would dare say that their respective personalities (high strung vs low key - I'm particularly thinking Beetlejuice and Big) started to develop in the mid-late 80s. Still love them both (but have always been a Keaton superfan - find me someone else that's seen Touch and Go, The Squeeze, and Pacific Heights in a steady rotation).
And both worked with Howard again (Keaton in Gung Ho and the underrated The Paper, Hanks in Apollo 13).
::True, Veber also wrote La Cage aux Folles, which was adapted into The Birdcage but that film’s relative cultural sensitivity can be attributed to director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Elaine May::
Actually, Veber deserves some credit for that, too, Nabin. His French comedies rarely translate well, but LA CAGE AUX FOLLES was a very important film in U.S. culture as the rare foreign comedy that was a huge hit in the U.S., earning $20.4M in 1978 dollars here, and becoming the film that opened the door for Conservative Middle-Aged Mothers like mine to toss their homophobia over their shoulders and accept that Gays Are People, Too!
If it makes you feel better, Veber was only one of four writers on LA CAGE..., and the movie was directed by Édouard Molinaro (another of the writers).
I think if you watch French comedies you kind of have to accept a certain ::Gallic shrug:: air of...how you say? Suspended Morality as part of the Oh-La-La! French character!
::stuffs a $20 bill in the "French Cliché" jar::
I fart in your general direction! Now go—before I taunt you a seconddd tahmmmeee...!
Recently watched this in our Tom Hanks A Thon. So dull. The definition of mid
Tom Hanks is a comedy genius, but his early films are very hit and miss. There was Splash and Big, but there was also Volunteers, Bachelor Party, Bonfire of the Vanities, Dragnet and this among others. Each film was kept afloat by his charisma. His great movies were so great and he was so perfect in them that they papered over a large group of very bad movies.
BACHELOR PARTY was back when Hollywood was trying to use Hanks's sarcastic side and turn him into an easier-to-deal-with Bill Murray(!)—and it was, amazingly, a hit, making $38.4M on a $7M budget ($112,765,000 on a $20,556,000 budget today). While not a major hit 1987's DRAGNET also "made its bait back", to quote Aussie film historian Terry Frost, earning $66.7M on a $20M budget ($177,144,000 on a $53,716,000 budget today). Even VOLUNTEERS, while hardly a barnburner, made $19.8M on a $10M budget (depending on marketing, it was either a break-even or a disappointment)—but Hanks has BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES on his résumé which was an all-time fiasco, not even earning back a third of its $47M budget!
Francis Veber did eventually give us The Dinner Game, so his career wasn’t entirely worthless.
My parents rented "La Cage Aux Folles" when I was a young teen and it was uncomfortable but wildly entertaining to watch with the whole family. Another time we rented the original "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" (1972). Also pretty good. Based on this small sample, I began to see why Americans had a reputation for being prudish, especially about nudity.
I later watched this American remake, and it was terrible. And that's why I refused to see "The Birdcage". Why was it made at all, Americans just ruin French movies when they remake them, every time!
As it turns out: no, not every time. Just most of the time. See also: Point of No Return, the American remake of La Femme Nikita. Except, no, don't see that.
This all happened many decades ago so my memory is a bit fuzzy, so maybe "Point of No Return" wasn't actually terrible. In any case it was a far better movie than this One Red Shoe remake.
When this came out, or more correctly when HBO premiered and began airing it on a regular basis, I liked it. I had loved Splash and Bachelor Party, and while this was more low key than the others, I still found it amusing. To me, it was similar to The Money Pit (one of those minor comedies people forget Steven Spielberg produced, like Continental Divide or Used Cars). It was not my favorite film, but I still remember it vividly and even quote it occasionally - even if it's the muted "Mm-mm" when he hears the screams from the dentist office and leaves immediately.
I remember seeing the case for this movie back in the video rental store days and remember being mildly intrigued. Never got it, and now I’m so glad.