In & Out (1997)

the audience applauded

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

If you're not anti-LGBT, this is a great movie. It has an outstanding cast AND it comes with a very serious guide to not being a sissy-man because manly-men neither dance nor laugh. It is an excellent study in the efficacy of conversion therapy. Watch it, you'll survive.This is a must see for Kline fans. I can watch this every 2 - 3 years.

As a huge fan of Kevin Kline and the others in this movie, I must say that this was below them. It obviously wasn't going to be as great as A Fish Called Wanda or as funny as There's Something About Mary, but geez! This movie is like eating potato chips with no flavour that are overly saturated with salt. I totally love Kevin Kline and he actually does a good job in this. He plays a high school English teacher named Howard Becket who is the most loved teacher in his school. Things seem to be going great for him: he's up for teacher of the year, he's about to finally get married (to Joan Cusack), and his old student Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is the favourite for an Oscar win. Drake's Oscar-winning role is him playing a gay soldier, and when he wins he thanks everybody including his "gay" teacher Howard Becket. So of course, everybody thinks it to be true. Is Howard hiding something? Does Howard not know himself?One thing that stung this movie was its predictability. It became very evident when Howard officially declares himself gay and what gags would come about soon after Drake's speech. But predictable or not, none of the jokes were funny! The only part where I giggled a little bit was at the climax. Other than that, very few times did I even crack a smile.As I said, Kevin Kline is fine. His sheer talent as an actor made the character of Howard Becket somewhat interesting. Howard pulls off some partially gay vibes that are extremely subtle and easy to miss. Only the most talented can do subtle traits at this level. He was perfect. But the lousy script prevented him from pushing it to higher ground. The same years as this saw Kline star in the phenomenal flick The Ice Storm. Watch that and skip this.The supporting cast is good too. Joan Cusack was nominated for an Oscar. If the film was better, she could have won. Tom Selleck was fun in this, but nothing special. Howard's students were good and so was Bob Newhart. Kevin Kline and company couldn't save this, they just made it worth watching until the end. THat's why the rating out of 10 isn't lower.

When you are outed on the Oscars, a la Tom Hanks' teacher from the year he won for "Philadelphia", how are you going to react when you happen to be engaged....to a woman? That's the case with respectable Kevin Kline who is preparing to marry the high strung Joan Cusack. What happens the day that Matt Dillon, as a fictional actor, outs Kline on the Oscars, turns into a two hour horror movie for Kline but a fun filled laugh fest for the rest of us, ultimately because it's so silly. Everybody is all of a sudden looking at him different, and neurotic Cusack obviously thinks that she turned Kline gay. It's a "whatever floats your boat" for his mother Debbie Reynolds and father Wilford Brimley, and pretty much mom already knew. Their small town is not only abuzz with this gossip, but abuzz with the onslaught of the sleazy press, out to get a story....any story.The scene-stealing Kline has some mighty tough competition here between over-the-top Cusack, gay icon Reynolds, brassy Brimley and hunky Tom Selleck, cast against type as a gay reporter who takes his own interest in Kline. It's obvious that in the early 1980's, a lot of gay men had the Tom Selleck look (most notably a few famous soap opera actors of the time), even though it was obvious that Selleck was as straight as a future Australian California governator. But for straight actors to take on gay characters and only to use the minimal amount of stereotypes is respectful, sometimes a bit too much in this p.c. world of ours, and even though the shock in this conservative town is great, everybody is just oh so nice about it. Cusack delivers the best performance, and she became known for her hysterical take no prisoners performances as drag queen like characters who were basically gay men trapped in a woman's body. When she goes on her rant, "Is everybody in this town gay?", you'll have to watch how hard you laugh, because I was in pain for hours afterwards when I first saw it. Dillon, playing a serious actor not unlike himself, shows his likability and the easy going manner that made him popular, if not the humongous star he should have been over certain mega stars consumed with ego. Kline adds this onto the list of unforgettable characters he played in "Sophie's Choice", "The Big Easy", "A Fish Called Wanda" and "Soapdish", among others. This is a fun film that spoofed a real life incident, although it would have been more realistic for there to have been a darker side to the town's acceptance of Kline, as harsh as that reality is.

Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon and Tom Selleck star in this 1997 comedy. This takes place in Midwest town, Greenleaf, Indiana and focuses on English teacher, Howard Brackett (Kline) who is about to be married to long-time fiancée, Emily Montgomery (Cusack). Soon, things change for Howard after his former student turned actor, Cameron Drake (Dillon) announces that he's gay at the Oscars. Howard tries to convince the town, his family and media that he's not, but he eventually comes to terms with his sexuality. Selleck plays reporter, Peter Malloy who is also gay. Debbie Reynolds, Wilford Brimley and Bob Newhart are also featured. This is a good comedy with a good cast I recommend.