Review of In & Out (1997) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013

Directed by Frank Oz, this is possibly the first film that was inspired by an Oscar acceptance speech, in particular, when Tom Hanks won an Oscar for Philadelphia, and thanked his high school drama teacher, and outed him, when it hadn't been made public.

It might sound hard to make a film from an acceptance speech, but in Paul Rudnick's screenplay, lay the foundations for a very funny comedy with a very good cast. In the town of Greenleaf, Indiana, Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline) works as an English literature teacher, and is a well liked member of the community, and he's getting ready to get married to his longtime sweetheart Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack).

One of Howard's former students and resident of Greenleaf, Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) has been nominated for an Oscar, which he wins. In his speech, Cameron thanks Howard, and says that he's gay.

Howard is shocked, but not as shocked as his parents (Debbie Reynolds and Wilford Brimley) and Emily, and despite Howard's protests that he's not gay, reporter Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) comes to town to see if the wedding goes ahead.

It has some very funny moments, and films about homosexuals don't normally do well at the box-office, but it has a brilliant cast, and it shows homosexuals in a positive light, without having to resort to crass stereotypes, as many films portraying them sometimes do.