IN & OUT (PG-13)
Directed by Frank Oz Running Time: 90 minutes Originally Released: September 19, 1997
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* * * ½ (out of four)
With more and more television shows having gay characters, and even the infamous "Ellen" sitcom being centered on the life of a lesbian, the movie industry too seems to be gaining more and more homosexual based plot lines. THE BIRDCAGE was critically acclaimed, as was this years CHASING AMY. Then along came IN & OUT, and all three of these films are on my top ten list for the years in which they were released. It's also noticeable that this "alternative lifestyle" becomes less and less taboo as the years go by, and it seems that using comedy as a medium is proving a worthwhile effort. While it's a very serious issue to many, it is the comedies that people are flocking to see and that are gaining notoriety.
But the way we're using comedy to present homosexuality is also changing quite dramatically. While the gay community was once very stereotyped and used to laugh *at*, it is more and more becoming something we laugh *with*, and when a movie like IN & OUT comes along, it is something that both heterosexuals and homosexuals should be able to thoroughly enjoy. It doesn't poke fun at the lifestyle, it simply uses it to all it's comedic capacity, just as love, sex, marriage, birth, death, and anything else has been.
The idea for IN & OUT was born the day Tom Hanks won his Oscar for portraying an AIDS-afflicted gay man in PHILADELPHIA. If you remember, during his acceptance speech, Hanks gave a highly emotional tribute to the gay community, and even sighted a former gay teacher of his as a major inspiration in his life. It's a serious and touchy subject, but producer Scott Rudin viewed it as the setting for a potentially hilarious comedy, and pitched it to screenwriter Paul Rudnick. It's true that if this same film had been written by a heterosexual, it may have been more controversial, but because it was written by an openly gay writer, the prerogative was set.
Kevin Kline, who only seems to become more and more acclaimed, stars as Howard Brackett, a high school English teacher in the small, picturesque town of Greenleaf, Indiana. After a three-year engagement to fellow teacher Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack), a wedding date has been set, and the hubbub surrounding it is almost as big as that surrounding another huge story - Greenleaf High graduate Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is up for a Best Actor Oscar. The small town eagerly awaits both events, and both seem quite astronomical, but little does anyone know how much one will affect the other.
When Cameron Drake is announced the winner, the excitement is heightened as he pays tribute to his high school English teacher, Mr. Brackett. Everyone is cheering back in Greenleaf - that is until Cameron tacks on those three calamitous words, "and he's gay." The town becomes silent as the entire population joins in a simultaneous jaw drop. The thing is, nobody, including Howard, can understand how Cameron came to that conclusion, and such wild and unexpected news can only wreak havoc in such a conservative American haven such as Greenleaf. Naturally the questions pour from Howard's fiancee, parents (Debbie Reynolds & Wilford Brimley), students, and the high school's principal, Tom Halliwell (Bob Newhart), and the evidence starts to become more and more obvious: Howard is clean, neat, honest, sincere, a romantic, and perhaps the most incriminating fact, he loves Barbara Streisand.
The frenzy isn't helped any when camera crews from every conceivable news magazine and "Entertainment Tonight" wannabe show up at Greenleaf High the very next morning. One particular reporter is Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) of "Inside Entertainment", who unlike the collage of other reporters, wants to spend a whole week in the life of Howard Brackett, including coverage of his wedding. The intrusion is all but welcome by Howard, who is going more and more out of his mind with each passing minute. It seems that no matter where he turns, a camera is being shoved in his face and questions regarding homosexuality are being tossed to him like Frisbees.
The dominoes begin to tumble as Howard's closest friends begin acting different and Principal Halliwell hints at a possible termination of employment should Howard indeed be gay. It all sounds very devastating, and it would be if it weren't presented with near-perfection by one of this year's most delightful ensemble casts. Kline seems only to improve with age, and he is downright perfect here. The great thing about this film is that every single character has a moment to shine, and they use it wonderfully. Every single actor turns in one of their best performances ever. Dillon has never been so likeable, Cusack has never seemed so perfect for a role, and Brimley, Reynolds, and Newhart all provide huge laughs when they're up to bat.
Rudnick's script is heavily laced with wit and humor, and you'll likely find yourself laughing out loud for a solid ninety minutes. While IN & OUT doesn't carry enough to give it four stars, it remains one of the best done films of the year, all-around. The script is exuberant, the actors are absolutely top- notch, and we're allowed just the perfect blend of heart-tugging so as not to bog down the laughs. It remains a solid comedy throughout its entirety, yet we're still allowed a sappily touching ending.
Despite it's subject matter, and one scene that comes almost too close for comfort on explaining gay sex, this is a movie that everyone could, and should, enjoy. Frank Oz, best known as a voice talent for Muppets, directs this film quite delightfully, using all the potential Rudnick's script has to offer, which turns out to be quite a bit. Check this one out. You'll have a gay old time.
December 27, 1997
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