Review of In & Out (1997) by Timothy S — 05 Aug 2013

"In and Out" is a slight comedy that is made more palatable because of Frank Oz's work behind the camera and thanks to the smart screenplay by Paul Rudnick. With a less talented filmmaker, this would have been a crude and distasteful film, and while it by no means is perfect as is, there is a lot to like here.

Oz has become one of comedic film's most reliable directors, and he and Rudnick hit all the right notes here. It doesn't shy away from some adult laughs, but it's basically genial in nature and delivers more smiles than actual laughs. The biggest assets here are the stars, and frankly no one could have played this lead better than Kevin Kline. You like the guy, which is key, and he delivers every line with just the right light touch. The scene with him using an audio tape to try to be more masculine is easily the movie's best.

The second half belongs more to Joan Cusack, and it's one of her best performances yet. The savvy screenplay makes a lot of pointed observations about the media and the general public's obsession with people's sexual orientation, and it gets some laughs by making fun of some pretty stupid points of view.

Unfortunately, the pat and mostly silly scene that concludes the film in a lot of ways betrays the viewer's intelligence and seems to come out of left field. I know it was supposed to show a solidarity for the gay community, but it comes across as phony and overly sentimental. The rest of the film is smarter than that. Before that point, "In and Out" is an amusing crowd-pleaser that may even challenge some people's way of thinking.