In & Out (1997)
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73% of critics liked it
(49 reviews) -
48% of users liked it
(38,237 ratings)
Life is sweet for high-school English teacher and sports coach Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline); he's still living where he grew up, he has a good relationship with his father (Wilford Brimley) and mother (Debbie Reynolds), he's respected by his community, and he's about to marry Emily… More Life is sweet for high-school English teacher and sports coach Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline); he's still living where he grew up, he has a good relationship with his father (Wilford Brimley) and mother (Debbie Reynolds), he's respected by his community, and he's about to marry Emily (Joan Cusack), his fiancée of three years. Fearing she was about to become an old maid, Emily has shed 75 pounds for the upcoming nuptials. But first, the entire town of Greenleaf, IN, settles in to watch the Academy Award telecast, because young stud star Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon), who attended Greenleaf High, has been nominated for an Oscar. What's more, he wins, and in his acceptance speech, singles out Howard -- and announces his favorite teacher is gay. Everyone in town is thunderstruck, including Howard himself. The media descend on the town, particularly Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck), whose job is hanging by a thread. Even worse, Howard's principal Tom Halliwell (Bob Newhart) is shaken by the news, and is toying with firing Howard. The beleaguered teacher tries to convince everyone (and himself) that he's as straight and macho as the next guy; he even tries to follow the rules on a motivational tape, "Be a Man." But his fondness for Barbra Streisand, his theatrical mannerisms, and the fact that he and Emily have yet to make love make everyone's eyebrows stay permanently raised. Meanwhile, out in Hollywood, Cameron, who's really a decent guy, learns about the problems his impulsive comment has caused, and heads back to Greenleaf to see what he can do to help. Howard's mother is fiercely determined to see at least one of her two sons wed -- Walter (Gregory Jbara), the other, is a doofus -- and as the wedding date draws nearer and nearer, poor Howard's life flies even farther out of control. ~ Bill Warren, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frank Oz
- Written By
- Paul Rudnick
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Sep 19, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount
Critic Reviews
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Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
Fast-moving and very funny.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Actually, the funniest parts of the movie are excerpts from the film that Cameron is originally nominated for.
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
Basically a one-joke farce that plays around with a once-delicate subject that by now is a mainstay even on TV.
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Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
The Hollywood stuff at the beginning with Glenn Close as an Oscar presenter and Matt Dillon as a puffed-up star on the rise is as funny and as nasty as anything in Libby Gelman-Waxner's columns.
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, Time Out
Oz wants it both ways, though, and can't resist hammering home the message with a prolonged Spartacus-style climax quite as ludicrous as the Oscar winning film-within-the-film.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Kevin Kline
as Howard Brackett
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Joan Cusack
as Emily Montgomery
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Matt Dillon
as Cameron Drake
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Debbie Reynolds
as Berniece Brackett
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Wilford Brimley
as Frank Brackett
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Bob Newhart
as Tom Halliwell
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Tom Selleck
as Peter Malloy
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Deborah Rush
as Ava Blazer
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Lewis J. Stadlen
as Ed Kenrow
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Gregory Jbara
as Walter Brackett
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Shalom Harlow
as Sonya
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J. Smith-Cameron
as Trina Paxton
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Kate McGregor-Stewart
as Aunt Becky
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Shawn Hatosy
as Jack
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Zak Orth
as Mike
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Lauren Ambrose
as Vicky
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Alexandra Holden
as Meredith
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Glenn Close
as Herself
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Whoopi Goldberg
as Herself
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Selma Blair
as Cousin Linda
- Jay Leno