In & Out (1997)

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.

Joan Cusack is superb in this funny farce about a teacher called Howard, engaged to be married, who discovers he is gay. It uses humour to explore some serious issues about small town bigotry, self-delusion, and the consequences of self-denial. Tom Selleck plays his best ever role as a witty, sly television reporter who takes it as a personal quest to push Howard to come out. The worst thing about the movie is the soundtrack, which is over the top and overly intrusive. And the script occasionally gets too flowery and cheesy. And sometimes the acting is too exaggerated. Everything is tied up in a neat knot. And Howard really doesn't suffer too much -- there's too much schmaltz. But it's a worthwhile film, made at the start of the era of accepting gays.

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.

You know, I heard about this movie a lot, since it's been repeatedly shown in Brazilian cable; after months of seeing its name, I decided to give it a chance and, oh boy, I made the right decision. "In & Out" is the funniest movie I've seen recently. It has one of the most intelligent stories I have ever seen! Every hilarious scene is filled with irony and self-directed criticism to the own American society, who tries to hide everything that doesn't fit well. The most clever and sarcastic scene is when Howard states he's gay in moment of her wedding, and once his mother hears that, she tries to fix it by saying "he meant he is having a wonderful day". From that moment on, I just kept constantly laughing, getting surprised every while. Other than that, not only directing and writing are great, but the cast is also extremely professional, delivering unexpected situations all the time. It's also interesting to notice how filmmakers show the way men are supposed to behave; we've always been induced to not dance, sing, speak mildly and stuff like that, otherwise we'd be compared to female or homosexual guys, which we should run from. You know, this movie was released in 1997, but current society is still very chauvinist and intolerant, in a point that I don't know if it changed significantly since the nineties. The controversy whether the main character is gay or not is irrelevant in this movie, given that the main pursuit is show how people behave in situations like that-- and I may state it's completely real. So that's it. "In & Out" is one of the most mature, clever and surprising comedies you'll ever get a chance to see. Congratulations for the team!