IN & OUT (Paramount Pictures) Like a senior citizen with a nose-ring, "In & Out" wears its hipness rather uncomfortably. A comedy that makes a half-hearted attempt to address the currently trendy subject of "coming out," "In & Out" has many funny moments, a typically charming performance by Kevin Kline and a boatload of good intentions. Why then does it feel so curiously hollow?
Part of the problem lies in the screenplay by Paul Rudnick, a bright, sassy writer (he penned "Jeffrey" and ghostwrites the "If You Ask Me" column by Libby Gelman-Waxner in Premiere). Rudnick's central idea is a takeoff on Tom Hanks' famous acceptance speech at the Oscars in 1993, when he thanked his high-school teacher for inspiration in creating the character of the gay attorney in "Philadelphia."
In "In & Out," Matt Dillon (cleverly sending up Ethan Hawke and similar high-minded young actors) is cast as Cameron Drake, who wins an Oscar for his performance as a gay soldier in something called "To Serve and Protect"; in the process, he beats out Steven Seagal, nominated for "Snowball In Hell." Picking up the prize, Drake gives credit to his high-school English teacher Howard Brackett (Kline), which thrills Brackett, his fiancee Emily (Joan Cusack) and Brackett's parents (Debbie Reynolds and Wilford Brimley), all watching back home in Greenleaf, Indiana. Not so thrilling however are the three little words that follow: "And he's gay." That turns out to be news to everyone, even, it appears, Howard, who's been planning to wed Emily that Sunday after a three-year engagement.
It's no time at all before the tiny town is buzzing with local gossip and reporters anxious for details. Among the newshounds is Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck, looking like he's seen better days), who dogs Brackett, determined to get a career-saving exclusive. The rest of the story follows Brackett's desperate attempts to assert his masculinity and heterosexuality, his mom's efforts to keep the wedding on track, and the town's struggle to determine exactly what to think about this bombshell.
Amusing moments abound in the film, as Brackett has to fend off questions like "do you know Ellen?", and has to defend the honor of Barbra Streisand against a lout who claims "she was too old for "Yentl"." But Rudnick seems to be reining himself in: Every time the movie seems on the verge of taking off into something truly wild and edgy, it quickly retreats, almost apologetically. The big moment in "In & Out," a lingering kiss between Brackett and Malloy, is not exactly going to rock anybody's world in 1997, and that image is as far out as the film is willing to go. Rudnick's maudlin tendencies emerge in the final reel, in the form of a lengthy "Dead Poets Society"-style scene that falls resoundingly flat.
Director Frank Oz doesn't help matters. Though he did a terrific job with the Steve Martin-Michael Caine vehicle "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" years ago, Oz never finds a rhythm here. Many scenes in "In & Out" either end abruptly or wind down without much of a punch. Everyone seems to be taking their best shot at keeping things lively, but there's a stifling inertia that seems to hang over the whole film like heavy humidity, and the comic sparks never fly. James Sanford
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