Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

In & Out Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 30, 2024

Who knew that an Oscar acceptance speech could itself inspire a film which would go on to at least get one Academy Award nomination? When Tom Hanks famously mentioned one of his gay teachers and a gay classmate he had gone to school with when he won Best Actor for Philadelphia, it may have seemed like a sweet if not particularly notable momentary "validation" for those two, especially given the still roiling atmosphere surrounding AIDS/HIV as documented by Philadelphia itself. In & Out screenwriter Paul Rudnick had already amassed some impressive credits in a number of media, including a 1992 play he later adapted into the film Jeffrey, which came out a year after Philadelphia. Jeffrey obviously has some tethers to In & Out, at least in passing, but as early as Rudnick's 1982 effort Poor Little Lambs, he was investigating perceived "gender roles" and resultant discrimination. Those interested in snarky film criticism (is there any other kind?) may know that Rudnick also had a long run as fictional writer Libby Gelman-Waxner in an scabrously funny column in the late, great Premiere Magazine.

Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline) is exactly the kind of high school teacher you'd want to have schooling your kids: he's smart, he's sweet, he's funny and he's very involved in the lives of his students. He's also on the verge of marrying fellow teacher Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack, that aforementioned sole Oscar nomination for this film in the Best Supporting Actress category), and Howard and Emily are among many gathering around community television screens across a fictional small town in Indiana to watch that year's Academy Award ceremonies, where local boy made good Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) has been nominated for Best Actor. To the jubilation of all, perhaps mostly Howard and Emily, Cam not only wins the award but begins his speech with a laudatory tribute to the impact Howard had on Cam's earlier life. The wide eyed appreciative wonder in the eyes of Howard, Emily and assorted others is suddenly turned to outright shock when Cam unexpectedly ends his speech by "outing" Howard as a gay man.

That suddenly thrusts Howard into a probably untenable position where he's forced to somehow "prove" he's not gay, something that is perhaps of especial interest to Emily, especially with those pesky impending nuptials on tap. And for all the wittiness and unabashed heartfelt emotion suffusing Rudnick's screenplay, it's in this very element, and especially the later probably unsurprising "reveal" that Howard is indeed gay, where some may feel Rudnick may not have had the courage of his "be your own best self" convictions, despite some apparent "feel good" aspects of Howard's ultimate decision to come out.

Now all of the following is merely hypothetical and meant to explore an admittedly "alternate version" of the film, but what if it had turned out that Howard wasn't gay? In other words, was it somehow a "requirement" that Howard had to be gay in order for Rudnick's spot on commentary on misperception and "being true to yourself" to resonate? In other other words, would In & Out have been materially different had Howard been revealed to be actually straight, if perhaps slightly divergent from "normative" gender behaviors? And could it have possibly have been even more affecting and perhaps less trifling feeling at times had something along those lines been followed, since it might have allowed even more insight into how people are often judged unfairly or even victimized in a way by being pigeonholed in some category or the other? These are admittedly simply rhetorical questions that have occurred to me since the first time I saw this film.

Now, it's obviously a fool's errand to try to rewrite this film, especially when it's so admittedly well written, and if simply taken on its own merits, a lot of In & Out hits its various targets with intelligent acumen. The floundering, flustered behaviors of both Howard and Emily are often wonderfully funny and awkward, and the supporting cast offers fantastic little moments for Debbie Reynolds and Wilfrid Brimley in particular as Howard's confused parents. Tom Selleck has an amusing supporting role as a seemingly unctuous infotainment reporter, and the inimitable Bob Newhart is also on hand as the principal at the school where Howard works.

In & Out Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

In & Out is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover of this release states this was culled from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. As collector's may know, home studio Paramount released In & Out in 1080 a couple of years ago, but as of the writing of this review, that release hasn't been covered here yet, so I can't offer any thoughts on screenshot comparisons. The bottom line is, this is very inviting looking presentation that offers a nicely suffused palette and some appealing detail levels. Grain tends to fluctuate throughout, sometimes apart from things like the optically printed credits sequence (which goes on for some time), but that at least argues for no aggressive filtering. There are also a couple of passingly soft looking moments, mostly in the school environment.

In & Out Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In & Out features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. This is obviously not a "whiz bang" effects laden track, but the surround version nicely opens up a rather charming and melodic score by Marc Shaiman, as well as positioning ambient environmental effects throughout the side and rear channels. Dialogue on both tracks tends to be front and center, and is always rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

In & Out Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Screenwriter Paul Rudnick, Moderated by Author / Film Historian Lee Gambin


• Ins & Outs (HD; 18:42) is an interview with Frank Oz.


• Dancing with Performers (HD; 18:15) is an interview with composer Marc Shaiman.


• Vintage Interview Clips with Kevin Cline, Joan Cusack, Tom Sellect, Debbie Reynolds, Frank Oz and Paul Rudnick (HD; 17:38)


• Behind the Scenes Footage (HD; 5:46)


• In & Out Trailer (HD; 2:32)

Trailers for several other releases from Kino are also included.

In & Out Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The world may not have been ready for it at the time, but I frankly think In & Out would have been even more provocative and potentially even funnier if Howard had turned out to be a misunderstood straight guy. That said, there are a ton of winning performances here, and the writing is typically sharp and witty. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements are enjoyable, including a nice commentary track available on both discs. Recommended.