Friends tell me, You are too picky, too hard on movies, you need to sit back and enjoy them and not expect so much from them.. I say, why not.I really don't ask that much, I ask to be entertained, to laugh, to cry, to sympathize, whatever emotion the movie is trying to elicit, not to be insulted, talked down to like a 3-year old, treated like I am a soulless zombie, drawn into the theater hypnotically, by a name on a marquee, or by falsely expected intentions given by previews or ?controlled information releases from a studio
In this year of 1997, beginning around January, the date I saw the movie, not the date it was released, I have seen very few movies worthy of the two hours or so that I spent in theater on them, People vs Larry Flynt , Howard Stern's Private Parts, Sling Blade (mmmhmm) just to name a few, and then there were the purely fun movies Liar, Liar which had it's very good moments, but ended on a questionably predictable and sappy note, and Men In Black which was pure, smart uninhibited fun, and up until now, the best comedy I had seen this year..
Then came In and Out, a movie which I had been teased about for a few months, with completel addicting preview, teasing of potential hiliarity. The thought that concerned me was that it might suffer the Showing-All-Your-Cards factor of letting you see the funniest parts of the movie to get you in the theater and then offering you very little else once you arrive, making you feel a bit like Chinese Food, it looks wonderful,tastes good going down, then leaves you empty an hour later. So it was with these usual trepidations that I entered the theater and settled in, ready and anxious to laugh, but still a bit hesitant of what was to come. This movie lived up to its previews and expectations, and then some. It provided some pleasant surprises as well. It was smart without being preachy, funny, without being corny, and all of the performances were first rate. I have always said that there are two things which will usually endear a movie to me. One, if the movie is not predictable, i.e. you can see something coming, or there is an obvious direction which something could go, and then it does, this movie is far from that, it takes the stereotypes and instead of caving into them, it satirically looks at them, and gives them the respec they deserve, without making them overused or sappy. Secondly, if a movie has consistent performances, top to bottom, in the cast, Kevin Kline is his usual self, intelligently slapstick funny, with an emotional, touching twist, Joan Cusack (as his long-suffering fiance') is at her manic, frustrated best, also showing true feelings between the rants, and the rest of the supporting players, Matt Dillon (spoofing himself in his best Brad Pitt mode) Tom Selleck (becoming the second 80s TV "stud" this year to switch gears, so to speak) Wilford Brimley, Bob Newhart, even Shalom Harlow (a supermodel, spoofing herself, that's the way this movie is throughout), the list goes on, but there are two performances which I believe deserve singling out. First, is the rejuvenated Debbie Reynolds, at her sweet, acerbic best as his nuptially deficient mother, who says "I dont care if you are gay, going on a killing spree, whatever, as long as you get married, I need cake and placecards!..(or something like that, you get the picture), she is a scene stealer and every one she is in. Second, is newcomer (and hopefully not one-time wonder) Zak Orth as one of three awestruck students of Kline, he is energetic, full of life, with a down-home, expressive quality, that reminds you of every class clown you ever knew. Overall, In&Out works on so many levels, it will make you laugh so hard in some scenes (the older ladies in the wedding reception room), it will make your heart leap out in sympathy, it will make you think about some of the inside jokes (listen for the Oscar nominees and a Tyson reference), but most of all, it has fun and will let you have fun, and enjoy your $6+ investment of time, a definite see now, and again and again...Thank you
In and Out Links