| In & Out | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Frank Oz |
| Written by | Paul Rudnick |
| Produced by | G. Mac Brown Scott Rudin Suzanne Santry Adam Schroeder |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Rob Hahn |
| Edited by | Daniel P. Hanley John Jympson |
| Music by | Marc Shaiman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million |
| Box office | $63.9 million |
In & Out is a 1997 Americancomedy film directed byFrank Oz, written byPaul Rudnick, and starringKevin Kline,Tom Selleck,Joan Cusack,Matt Dillon,Debbie Reynolds,Bob Newhart,Shalom Harlow, andWilford Brimley. The film follows a harried high school teacher (Kline) who, just days before his wedding, battles rumors of his homosexuality in his small Midwestern hometown after one of his former studentsouts him on national television, prompting him to question his own sexual orientation.
Inspired by an emotionalAcademy Award acceptance speech byTom Hanks, the film became one of mainstreamHollywood's first few attempts at a comedic "gay movie" of its era, and was widely noted at the time for a 12-second kiss between Kline and Selleck. A commercial and critical success, it earned about $63.9 million worldwide and receiving praise for its performances, particularly those of Kline and Cusack, who was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.[1]
Howard Brackett is a well-likedEnglish literature teacher, living a quiet life in the fictional town of Greenleaf,Indiana, with hisfiancée and fellow teacher Emily Montgomery, who has low self-esteem and recently lost weight for their imminent wedding. Although none the wiser, Howard embodies gaystereotypes such as his love of romantic literature, his fandom ofBarbra Streisand, and hischaste three-year relationship with Emily.
The town is filled with anticipation over the nomination of Howard's former student Cameron Drake in theBest Actor category at theAcademy Awards for his portrayal of a gay soldier inTo Serve and Protect. Cameron wins, and in his acceptance speech he thanks Howard, dedicates the award to him, and concludes byouting him as a gay man.
The announcement stuns Howard and his family, fiancée, friends, students, and co-workers. In disbelief and indignation he angrily reassures those who know him that he isheterosexual. His life becomes amedia circus as reporters invade his hometown and harass him for interviews following the awards night telecast. Howard finds himself under greater scrutiny by his boss, Principal Tom Halliwell, who is uncomfortable with the attention being brought to the school.
The reporters leave after getting their story, except for on-camera entertainment reporter Peter Malloy, who wants to cover Howard's wedding. Howard confesses to a priest who recommends he sleep with Emily in order to prove his heterosexuality, but Howard finds he cannot go through with it due to his conflicting emotions and Emily's concern for his well-being.
Howard crosses paths with Peter, who reveals that he is gay and shares his own experience incoming out to his family. Howard insists that he is not gay, but to his shock Peter kisses him and he enjoys it. Afterwards, Howard tries to use a self-help audio cassette about being a "real" man to assert his heterosexuality, but finally gives up when it fails to work.
During the wedding ceremony, Emily recites her vow without hesitation, but when prompted by the minister to give his vow, Howard finally comes out as gay instead, breaking Emily's heart and canceling the wedding. Peter is proud of Howard who in turn is angry with himself for hurting Emily.
The school fires Howard for coming out but still allows him to attend the graduation ceremony to support his students and sit on stage with his former co-workers. Having learned of the ensuing media blitz, Cameron returns to his hometown with his supermodel girlfriend and comes to the ceremony.
When Cameron learns that his former teacher became ineligible for the "Teacher of the Year" award upon being dismissed, he publicly questions if firing Howard is truly what the community wanted. A student Howard helped get into college proclaims himself to be gay, and his classmates show their support by joining him to proclaim themselves to be gay as well. Howard's family follows suit, as do his friends, and all the townsfolk assembled. Although Howard does not win "Teacher of the Year", Cameron presents him with his Oscar to the cheers of the crowd.
Howard's wedding-crazy mother finally gets a wedding—her own, when she and her husband renew their vows. Howard, Peter and the rest of the townsfolk attend the reception, where everyone dances to theVillage People song "Macho Man". Among the crowd are Emily and Cameron, who appear to have begun a relationship.
In & Out was inspired by actorTom Hanks's1994 Academy Awards acceptance speech forPhiladelphia, in which Hanks tearfully acknowledged his high school drama teacher, Rawley Farnsworth, and his former classmate, John Gilkerson, referring to them as "two of the finest gay Americans, two wonderful men that I had the good fortune to be associated with."[2] This spontaneous and heartfelt tribute served as the conceptual catalyst for screenwriterPaul Rudnick, who developed the film's premise around a small-town teacher who is inadvertently "outed" following a similar public moment.[2]
Principal photography forIn & Out was directed byFrank Oz and took place primarily during 1996 and early 1997 across several locations inPennsylvania,New Jersey,New York, andCalifornia. Selected for its "beautiful auditorium, a great gymnasium" and other aesthetic qualities, thePompton Lakes High School inPompton Lakes, New Jersey was used extensively as a filming location.[3] Further filming was done inNorthport, New York, located on the north shore of Long Island in Suffolk County.[4] According to Oz, production was temporarily halted when much of the cast and crew contracted influenza, recalling that "we all got sick [...] because we all got the flu."[5]
Despite an otherwise smooth shoot, reports later emerged of interpersonal tension between Oz and actorWilford Brimley, though neither party has publicly discussed the nature of their disagreement.[6][7]Joan Cusack was heavily pregnant during the later stages of production in 1997, with her son Dylan John eventually being born in June 1997.[8][9] The fact that she was pregnant was concealed, withWomen's Wear Daily noting in 1998 that the pregnancies ofJulianne Moore andTeri Hatcher were similarly concealed in recent films of theirs from 1997.[10]
| In & Out Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | September 23, 1997 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Label | Motown |
At first, Frank Oz askedMiles Goodman to do the music forIn & Out. Goodman, who composed several of Oz's previous films, died before he could do so.[5]
A soundtrack was released on Tuesday, September 23, 1997, featuring previously recorded songs as well as Marc Shaiman's instrumental music composed for the film.
The film did well at the box office, grossing $15,019,821 in its opening weekend and $63,856,929 over its entire theatrical run.[11]
In & Out was well received by critics. The film has a 74% approval rating onRotten Tomatoes based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10; the site's consensus states: "It doesn't always find comfortable ground between broad comedy and social commentary, but lively performances—especially from Kevin Kline and Joan Cusack—enrichIn & Out's mixture of laughs and sexual tolerance."[12] OnMetacritic the film has a rating of 70 based on reviews from 18 critics.[13]
The performances were widely praised, especially Cusack,[14] who earned an Oscar nod, and Kline.[15] The film also gained attention for depicting homosexuality in a "mainstream" comedy about "Middle America,"[16] which, Rita Kempley Howe wrote inThe Washington Post, "manages to simultaneously flaunt and floutgay stereotypes."[17] Critics also noted its generally asexual treatment of homosexuality:Janet Maslin commented inThe New York Times that the film is not one "to associate gayness with actual sex,"[14] whileTV Guide quipped that it "finally gets discussion about gay people out of the bedroom and into the record store."[18] Despite generally positive reviews, several critics, even those who were complimentary, felt that the ending was weak and did not live up to the rest of the film.[14][15][19]
American Film Institute recognition:
In & Out was released on a domestic Region 1DVD byParamount Home Entertainment on October 21, 1998.[35] The release does not include any extras besides the theatrical trailer. The British Region 2 DVD was released on April 9, 2001.[36] In 1998, it also receivedLaserDisc releases in the US, Hong Kong and Japan.[37]
At the time of the film's release, Paramount's parent companyViacom held a majority stake in the film's producerSpelling Films (part ofSpelling Entertainment). They acquired this stake in Spelling Entertainment in 1994, through their purchase ofBlockbuster, which itself had a 67% stake in Spelling Entertainment since 1993. Viacom would go on to buy out the remaining stake in Spelling Entertainment during March 1999, which further solidified Paramount's ownership ofIn & Out.[38]
The film received a new 4K remaster and was released onBlu-ray on June 1, 2021, in the United States[39] and is currently available on iTunes in 4K with Dolby Vision HDR.[40]
Also in the guts-hating category are Wilford Brimley (with whom Oz crossed swords on "In & Out")...
