[9/12/2002 9:05:17 AM | Andy Kovacs]
"If you're deep enough in denial to actually think that you had a happy childhood, there's always a shrink who will tell you that you must be forgetting something."
- Dennis Miller

[9/12/2002 1:10:23 PM | Andy Kovacs]
In & Out

Kevin Kline stars as a High School English teacher who is "outed" by a former-student-turned-Academy-award-winning-actor in said former student's acceptance speech at the Oscars.

The movie's premise is simple enough to understand: a man who is about to get married is told that he is gay and needs to prove to the small midwestern town in which he lives, and to himself, that he is not.

I didn't know what to expect when this movie came out. I had heard from friends that it wasn't good. I had heard from people that it was great. I didn't know what to think and it ended up that I didn't have the money to go see it anyway (being in college and all), so I forgot about it. Then Tiff made me watch it last year and, Dear God this movie was hilarious!

You would think that with a premise so simple, the jokes would get old and stale quicker than a video tape of Rodney Dangerfield playing on a continuous loop. After all, once you've heard one gay joke you've heard them all, right? In & Out does well with the material that it was presented with, making the most of the actors as well as the script. Kevin Kline was, in my mind, the perfect person to play the "outed" teacher and Joan Cusack's fiery temper was the perfect match for Kline's trying-to-remain-unruffled demeanor.

The biggest surprise for me, however, is that Tom Selleck and Kevin Kline share an on-screen kiss, the likes of which reminded me of the old photo of the sailor in Times Square smooching his gal after World War II ended. It's a big smooch and when it happens it's like you can hear a chorus of gay men clapping and squealing in joy. I know it's just a movie, but this part took me completely by surprise. I mean, Tom Selleck is the quintessential cool guy. He was Magnum, P.I. You don't get much cooler, or manlier, than Magnum! This is the guy who, when he got married in the mid 80's, women around the world mourned. This was one of my manly idols as a kid and here he is playing a gay person in a movie, kissing Kevin "Don't Call Me Stupid" Kline!!! Amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes. I wasn't offended, I just wasn't expecting to see that. But I guess it is only just a movie and it is only just another paycheck for Mr. Selleck.

The best scene in the movie, though, is one where Kline is at home trying to prove to himself that he is not gay, so he puts on an audio tape and, well, you'll have to watch the scene because I know I can't do it justice in this column.

The ending was credible, too. It wasn't a cop-out; in fact, it was a very good ending to a very good movie. You'll have to go out and rent it if you have the chance. I will give this movie *** out of 4 stars.

-andy