In & Out [VHS] [1998]

This is a film based on the premise; What if you were outed on national television? A thin conceit and yet one that provides for a great film. Done with skill and care, this film has a sparkling cast (Kevin Kline, Tom Selleck, Joan Cusack) supported by an admirable list of old hands (Bob Newhart, Debbie Reynolds), and a great script (Rudnick). The action centres on a small town high school teacher, Howard, who has just been outed by a former star pupil (a wonderful turn from Matt Dillon) in his Oscar acceptance speech, just days away from his marriage. What follows is a man trying hopelessly to prove to the entire town that he is not, although with every breath he only manages to convince otherwise (his encyclopaedic knowledge of Barbra Steisand films does not help this – his girlfriend crying at one stage “Do you know how many times I had to watch ‘Funny Lady’?”).

The highlights are the superbly played scenes with his now hysterical girlfriend (Oscar nominated Cusack), and a scene played with a tape recording about how to be a man in which he is berated by the narrator for dancing “…think of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnold doesn’t dance – he barley even walks!”. The end is rousing with a nod to ‘Spartacus’, and yes it is perhaps a little saccharine for the hardbitten viewer, but for me it is exactly as it should be. What could have been heavy handed or incredibly mawkish manages to be neither for which we should thank all involved.

As always with DVD’s of some age all you are really getting is the film – but who cares when it is this good?

Director Frank Oz and screenwriter Paul Rudnick turn potential controversy and a touchy subject into a riotous, slapstick comedy with some of the wittiest and funniest dialogue in years. Kevin Kline as the 'possibly' gay teacher and Joan Cusack as the insufferable and patient fiancee are in top form (Cusack was nominated for an Oscar). The supporting cast are all veterans and even Tom Selleck does a turn for the better with his acting.

There is nothing but hilarity, joy and even tenderness between the characters with unexpected twists and character turnabouts that will soften even the most jaded. This is worth seeing if only for Joan Cusack where with a mouth full of bar nuts runs screaming into the street yelling, "Is this the twilight zone?!" Yes, the ending is happy - even more so.