Review of In & Out (1997) by Adrian F — 22 Sep 2010

Hilarious comedy of sort-of-errors inspired by Tom Hanks's Oscar speech where he thanked his gay teacher and toyed with the idea of what if the said teacher is not actually gay.

Kevin Kline is obviously having a ball in the role of a lifetime, playing Brackett, a flamboyant high school literary teacher whose world is turned upside down when an Oscar-winning actor (played by a slimy Matt Dillon) thanked him for being gay.

The movie then proceeds with is-he-is-he-not factor. And he's getting married in a couple of days. You see, he coaches a football team, but he also likes dancing and an avid Barbra Streisand fan. Hios fiancee is getting confused. His smalltown family, friends and students try to understand and accept him as he is, but not without curiosity and suspicion. An openly gay entertainment reporter (Tom Selleck) is trying to dig deeper. It doesn't help that Brackett himself is now not really sure if he's straight.

Funny, funny movie, with a scene of Brackett listening to a motivational tape (42 minutes into the movie) being the highlight, an absolute 3 minutes of comedy heaven.