In & Out

with Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Debbie Reynolds, Wilford Brimley, Matt Dillon, Bob Newhart
Directed by Frank Oz
Written by Paul Rudnick
by Scott Hefflon

As director Frank Oz knows well, “Getting there is half the Fun.” When Howard (Kline), a smartly-dressed high school English teacher in a small Indiana town, is said to be gay on national TV by local hero/movie heart-throb/dumb pretty-boy Cameron (Dillon) for reasons which are never explained and no one cares, Howard’s neat and tidy life is thrown into turmoil. Suspicious, yet loving, are his fiancee (Cusack), his father (Brimley), and his mother (Reynolds). Not entirely supportive are his squeamish boss (Newhart), his football team (who cares), or the ever-expressive TV gossip columnist, Peter Malloy (Selleck), who comes to get the “truth.”

The movie takes a long time to build. Sure, you really begin to understand the characters and their PG-13 motives, but damn if it doesn’t take time. But it’s good. As the characters slowly come to terms with Howard’s gayness (except Howard), the pace picks up and funny turns hilarious. Many scenes, some anticipated and some not, will have you laughing aloud and reaching for the rewind button. Admittedly, the ending wraps up too neatly, too conveniently, too predictably, and with too much grandiosity, but that’s when you rewind to the “moment of truth” and laugh yourself stupid.