One of the reasons teen rom-coms can feel like idyllic versions of reality is because so many feature that special, fantastical moment in which the lovelorn protagonist sets her star-crossed eyes on the object of her affection. Esther Zuckerman United Artists Releasing In its 90's way, The Birdcage doesn't allow Albert and Armand to show much physical affection, but this exchange tells you all you need to know about their relationship.
In a movie full of broad comedy, it's a quiet moment that allows these actors to explore the love between their characters. The one in Los Copa's really shit." But then he says he's going to have to sell his so he can be buried next to Albert. The sky is blue, palm trees, rolling hills. Armand calmly responds, "My cemetery's in Key Biscayne. Albert explains he's going to a cemetery in Los Copa, a veiled threat. But I keep coming back to the scene at the bus stop after Lane's Albert has stormed off, upset to see Williams' Armand dancing with his son's mother (Christine Baranski). I could list countless moments: Robin Williams' "Fosse, Fosse, Fosse" tour through the history of modern dance as an uninterested go-go boy watches, Nathan Lane's wearing Barbara Bush drag to impress Gene Hackman, etc. Emma Stefanksy MGM/UA Distribution Co.įor all of its dated qualities, The Birdcage, which was probably my introduction to queer culture, is still a crucial comfort watch.
In a memorable scene, David, who fashions himself after aristocratic British adventurers of the olden days, teaches Walter how to play music, holding a flute to his mouth and saying, "I'll do the fingering." Their connection is riveting and, especially in David's case, highly emotional, which makes his question in a later scene-"When you close your eyes, do you dream of me?"-all the more heartbreaking.
While the humans run around shooting things and exploding things and getting picked off by the planet's parasitic residents, Walter and David (both played by Michael Fassbender, in a mind-bending technical achievement) share a few philosophical chats about whether or not humans deserve to inherit the legacy of higher beings-you know, robot flirting.
In Alien: Covenant, a human colony ship's resident nurse android Walter encounters David, an earlier version of himself who survived his own ship's unfortunate crash-landing on an uncharted planet populated by bloodthirsty monsters. The mangled, leggy forms of the pre-Xenomorphs are too, well, alien to connect with, so who do you root for? The robots, of course. While watching Ridley Scott's Alien prequels Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), it's impossible not to notice their utter disdain for their human characters, and for humans themselves: a failed creation clawing its way out of the sand trap of inevitable extinction.