That was a great movie - with a gay theme! It showed love betweeen two men. Oh the horror! Its the end of the world.
I wonder how many people here bashing Brokeback Mountain have actually seen it.
People just aren't as threatened as much by flamboyantly gay characters, they are more comic relief than anything, like watching a freak show, they aren't trying to be considered "normal." They know they are different.
But now you have a movie where you have two straight-acting males are involved, and that changes things. Now they are trying to create the illusion that what they are is "normal." And that's why BBM is different than The Birdcage.