JL;DR SUMMARY Gene Hackman's role in the 1996 film "The Birdcage," where he portrays a conservative senator ensnared by the antics of a Jewish drag club couple played by Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, symbolizes a pivotal moment in Jewish assimilation in Hollywood. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.