Anytimers: Movies I love

I'm not really going to do "features" on my blog, but in the course of my somewhat predictable life there will be topics touched on more than once.

So, "Anytimers" for me are movies that I can find flipping through the channels and stop on, get sucked in and all of a sudden its 2 a.m. and I'm crying over Jenny for the 50th time (we'll get to that one later.)

Last night, it happened again. The culprit? The Birdcage.

Ironically, the first time I saw this movie was in a similar situation. I was up late, couldn't sleep, found it on tv and paused for a bit. Fifteen minutes later I was laughing so hard that my college roommate and sleeping boyfriend were giving me the one-eye open glare. 

I couldn't help it. This movie is hilarious and I'm not afraid to include it in my top-20 of all time (a list for another day.)

So I caught it last night, near the beginning when Val first tells Armand he's getting married. First of all, how good is Robin Williams in this movie? I am a closeted (not pun intended) Robin Williams fan. Funny enough, he's not the flamboyant one in this movie. That's Nathan Lane, who pretty much makes me laugh with every line in this movie. Throw in Gene Hackman as a conservative senator, Dianne West as his clueless wife and Hank Azaria as a flamboyant Guatemalan housemaid and you've got me. In fact, it was on again in the morning and I watched it again.

Some of my favorite quotes:

(As Robin Williams character Armand is trying to teach Nathan Lane's Albert to be straight)

Armand: Al, you old son of a bitch! How ya doin'? How do you feel about that call today? I mean the Dolphins! Fourth-and-three play on their 30 yard line with only 34 seconds to go!
Albert: How do you think I feel? Betrayed, bewildered ... wrong response? 

(As Gene Hackmans character finds out over the phone that the co-founder of The Comission for Moral Order is dead)

Senator Kevin Keeley: Hello, Ben. Ready for what? WHAT?
Louise Keeley: What's the matter, Kevin?
Senator Kevin Keeley: Jackson's dead.
Louise Keeley: Oh my God!
Senator Kevin Keeley: He died in bed? Whose bed? A prostitute?
Louise Keeley: No!
Senator Kevin Keeley: A minor? And black?
Louise Keeley: What?
Senator Kevin Keeley: I don't believe this! I don't FUCKING believe this!

(OK, this one isn't so much funny. But it's one of those classic, 'Pull this quote out and put it on your facebook profile when your feeling angsty' quotes. Nathan Lane's Albert finding out he's been banned from the house while the conservative senator is there)

Albert: Oh yes, another jive, another joke at my expense. You were probably laughing at me with Katherine, too. Well, why not? I'm not young, I'm not new, and everyone laughs at me. I'm quite aware of how ridiculous I am. I've been thinking that the only solution is to go where no one is ridiculous and everyone is equal. Goodbye, Armand. 

Rent it!