A midwestern teacher questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.3/10
IMDb: 6.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.34/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
Metacritic: 70
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
Frank Oz
Production
Paramount Pictures, Spelling Films, Scott Rudin Productions
Cast
Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds, Wilford Brimley, Bob Newhart, Gregory Jbara, Shalom Harlow, Shawn Hatosy, Zak Orth, Lauren Ambrose, Deborah Rush, June Squibb, Alice Drummond, Alexandra Holden, Selma Blair, Bill Camp, Lauren Ward, J. Smith-Cameron
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A breezy, broadly appealing studio comedy that uses a coming-out premise to build a crowd-pleasing farce about identity, performance, and small-town respectability. It’s very much of its era, but the cast, timing, and warm-hearted tone still make it an easy watch.
Best for
Viewers who like mainstream 90s comedies with a queer angle
Fans of Kevin Kline and sharp ensemble banter
People who enjoy feel-good, socially aware crowd-pleasers
Anyone curious about a lighter, more old-school coming-out comedy
Skip if
You want a modern or especially nuanced LGBTQ+ drama
You’re sensitive to dated jokes and 90s-era stereotypes
You prefer comedy that feels edgy or formally inventive
You want the film to be more emotionally complex than broadly sentimental
Overview
In & Out is a very specific kind of studio comedy: polished, accessible, and built around the tension between public image and private truth. The premise is simple enough to trigger a lot of farce, but the movie’s real engine is embarrassment, social panic, and the absurdity of everyone around the central character trying to manage his identity for him.
Worth noting
What keeps it working is the cast. Kevin Kline plays the confusion and indignation with just enough sincerity to keep the comedy from turning mean, while Joan Cusack brings the kind of high-voltage comic energy that can make a scene feel like it’s sprinting. The film’s best moments are the ones that let awkwardness snowball into communal chaos.
Bottom line
It’s also unmistakably a product of the late 90s, which means some of the humor lands as dated or overly broad now. But as a mainstream queer-adjacent comedy from that moment, it’s notable for being unusually open, affectionate, and willing to make the whole town part of the joke. For viewers in the mood for a light, star-driven comedy with a progressive streak, it still goes down easily.
Top Letterboxd reviews
🌻 lindsay 🌻 (4★) · 1664 likes
The o captain my captain scene from dead poets society wishes it had the power of the scene in this where everyone stands up and says they’re gay
👽 Zara 👽 (4★) · 1356 likes
i love terribly dated out of touch campy gay films they’re my friend
Sam (4.5★) · 832 likes
I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY MADE A MOVIE SPECIFICALLY FOR OSCAR OBSESSED GAYS WTF IS THIS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF?!??!!
liIy (4★) · 780 likes
i can’t believe paul newman lost to cameron drake at the 68th annual academy awards
jack (3★) · 649 likes
‘IS EVERYBODY GAY???? IS THIS A TWILIGHT ZONE???’
joan cusack is such a good comedic actress, the whole scene of her leaving the bar is soooooo good
1996 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 59m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (359.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
Shares the same era’s big, accessible comic energy while centering queer identity, performance, and family pressure.
1994 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 1h 46m · R · Curator 4.7/10 (45.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Paramount Plus Essential, Netflix Standard with Ads
A sharp, bittersweet comedy about social awkwardness, reinvention, and the gap between who you are and who others expect.