History Film / InAndOut

Within hours, Howard is beset by camera crews and reporters eager to get their slice of the story -- including Peter Molloy (Creator/TomSelleck), a reporter for an entertainment gossip show. Howard insists that he's not gay and that Cameron was mistaken. However, the openly gay Molloy isn't convinced, and settles in to cover the days leading up to Howard's wedding because he suspects denial. Thus Howard finds himself under tremendous pressure from his parents, his fiancée and the school's principal (Bob Newhart) to assert his heterosexuality, but when even he starts questioning himself, he has to face the truth...

* ClosetKey: Peter and, in a bizarre straight example, Cameron. Howard, not the type to ever consciously form a romantic relationship with someone he knew he wasn't attracted to, honestly didn't realize that he was gay until Cameron planted the seed in his mind. Peter forced him to acknowledge rather than deny what he was realizing. One has to wonder what tricks Howard's subconscious had to play to keep him from ever truly suspecting he wasn't straight. Being against premarital sex, fine, but not seeming to have any sexual desire at all for the person you're going to marry seems as though that might just tip off some sort of alarm. I might be gay. I might be asexual. I might not really be in love with this person. Something.

-->'''Aldo:''' ''{{Yentl}}'' sucks.\\

'''Aldo:''' [[BarbraStreisand She]] was [[DawsonCasting too old]] for ''{{Yentl}}''!\\

Howard Brackett (Creator/KevinKline), a high school English teacher in the "BIG small town" of Greenleaf, Indiana, is preparing for his marriage to his fiancée of three years, Emily Montgomery (Creator/JoanCusack), while the whole town is abuzz with the news that hometown boy turned Hollywood megastar Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is picked as the favorite to win the Best Actor gong at the Academy Awards for his performance in a war film as a gay soldier. At Oscar night, the whole town is watching as Drake wins the award, and dedicates his award to Howard -- outing him as gay in the process.

Howard Brackett (Creator/KevinKline), a high school English teacher in the "BIG small town" of Greenleaf, Indiana, is preparing for his marriage to his fiancée of three years, Emily Montgomery (Creator/JoanCusack), while the whole town is abuzz with the news that hometown boy turned Hollywood megastar Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is picked as the favorite to win the Best Actor gong at the Academy Awards for his performance in a war film as a gay soldier. At Oscar night, the whole town is watching as Drake wins the award, and dedicates his award to Howard, who Cameron outs as gay.

The next day, Howard is beset with camera crews and reporters eager to get their slice of the story - including Peter Molloy (Creator/TomSelleck), a reporter for an entertainment gossip show - and tries to tell everyone that Cameron's made a mistake. However, the openly gay Molloy isn't convinced, and is covering the days leading up to Howard's wedding because he suspects denial. Thus Howard finds himself under tremendous pressure from his parents, his fiancée and the school's principal (Bob Newhart), Howard tries to assert his heterosexuality, but even he starts questioning himself, and has to face the truth...

* AllTheGoodMenAreGay: When Howard realizes that he really is gay and calls off the wedding, his fiancee is devastated and goes to a bar (in her wedding dress, no less) drink away her sorrows. She hits on Tom Selleck's character, who truthfully tells her that he is gay. Cut to her running out into the parking lot, falling to her knees, and screaming, "''Is everybody gay?!''"

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It may seem strange to some latter-day viewers when the entire town freaks out over the possibility that the high school English teacher is gay. Even if one assumes such a thing could still happen in a small town, [[spoiler: it's odd to see the principal be so blunt about firing Howard on the basis of his sexual orientation.]]
** Also, the idea of gay marriage is never brought up (understandably, since it was made in 1997). However, marriage equality has become more and more widespread as SocietyMarchesOn, so the idea that Howard could still get married someday is not out of the question.

** Also, the idea of gay marriage is never brought up (understandably, since it was made in 1993). However, marriage equality has become more and more widespread as SocietyMarchesOn, so the idea that Howard could still get married someday is not out of the question.

* [[RealMenWearPink Real Men Like Barbra Streisand]]

* TheBeard: Emily

* [[spoiler:FiredTeacher: For not going through with the wedding.]]

* TechnologyMarchesOn: A scene has Cameron's supermodel girlfriend befuddled by a rotary-dial telephone in her motel room.
** Real Life example: At Howards bachelor party they stick a UsefulNotes/LaserDisc of ''Theatre/FunnyGirl'' in Howard's hands. Modern viewers are forgiven if they mistook it for a LP of the soundtrack.

A 1997 film directed by Frank Oz, which deals with homosexuality with some degree of fairness, despite occasionally leaning back on stereotypes for its characters. Granted, [[FairForItsDay it was 1997]], when the only easy way for the general public to tell somebody was gay was to fall back on stereotypes.

Howard Brackett (Creator/KevinKline), a high school English teacher in the "BIG small town" of Greenleaf, Indiana, is preparing for his marriage to his fiancée of three years, Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack), while the whole town is abuzz with the news that hometown boy turned Hollywood megastar Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is picked as the favorite to win the Best Actor gong at the Academy Awards for his performance in a war film as a gay soldier. At Oscar night, the whole town is watching as Drake wins the award, and dedicates his award to Howard, who Cameron outs as gay.

The next day, Howard is beset with camera crews and reporters eager to get their slice of the story - including Peter Molloy (TomSelleck), a reporter for an entertainment gossip show - and tries to tell everyone that Cameron's made a mistake. However, the openly gay Molloy isn't convinced, and is covering the days leading up to Howard's wedding because he suspects denial. Thus Howard finds himself under tremendous pressure from his parents, his fiancée and the school's principal (Bob Newhart), Howard tries to assert his heterosexuality, but even he starts questioning himself, and has to face the truth...

* StraightGay / FlamboyantGay: Howard and Peter both straddle the line, Peter leaning towards Straight and Howard towards Flamboyant.

** Real Life example: At Howards bachelor party they stick a {{Laserdisc}} of ''Funny Girl'' in Howard's hands. Modern viewers are forgiven if they mistook it for a LP of the soundtrack.

Howard Brackett (Creator/KevinKline), a high school English teacher in the "BIG small town" of Greenleaf, Indiana, is preparing for his marriage to his fiancée of three years, Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack), while the whole town is abuzz with the news that hometown boy turned Hollywood megastar Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is picked as the favorite to win the Best Actor gong at the Academy Awards for his performance in a war film as a gay soldier. At Oscar night, the whole town is watching as Drake wins the award, and dedicates his award to Howard, his gay English teacher.

Howard Brackett (Creator/KevinKline), a high school English teacher in the "BIG small town" of Greenleaf, Indiana, is preparing for his marriage to his fiancée of three years, Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack), while the whole town is abuzz with the news that hometown boy turned Hollywood megastar Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is picked as the favorite to win the Best Actor gong at the Academy Awards for his performance in a war film as a gay soldier. At Oscar night, the whole town is watching as Drake wins the award, and dedicates his award to Howard...

...and three seconds later, tells the whole world that Howard is gay.

The next day, Howard is beset with camera crews and reporters eager to get their slice of the story - including Peter Molloy (TomSelleck), a reporter for an entertainment gossip show - and tries to tell everyone that Cameron's made a mistake. However, the openly gay Molloy isn't convinced, and is covering the days leading up to Howard's wedding because he suspects denial.

As the wedding draws near, and Howard finds himself under tremendous pressure from his parents, his fiancée and the school's principal (Bob Newhart), Howard tries to assert his heterosexuality, but even he starts questioning himself, and has to face the truth...

* AffectionateParody: Of conservative, small town life and also of attitudes towards gay people at the time ([[AndZoidberg and to a lesser extent, Hollywood]]). The film easily could have transformed Howard's friends, family, and students into bigoted {{Jerkass}}' after Cameron outed him, but they are portrayed as more confused about the issue than anything.

* NoBisexuals: But it was FairForItsDay. The movie portrayed homosexuals in a positive (though stereotyped) light and homophobia as paranoiacally idiotic. This was back before the phrase LGBT was thrown around as a catch-all.

** Real Life example: At Howards bachelor party they stick a {{Laserdisc}} of ''Funny Girl'' in Howards hands. Modern viewers are forgiven if they mistook it for a LP of the soundtrack.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It may seem strange to some latter-day viewers when the entire town freaks out over the possibility that the high school English teacher is gay. Even if one assumes such a thing could still happen in a small town,[[spoiler: it's odd to see the principal be so blunt about firing Howard on the basis of his sexual orientation.]]

* BrainlessBeauty: Cameron's supermodel girlfriend, Sonya.

Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline), a high school English teacher in the "BIG small town" of Greenleaf, Indiana, is preparing for his marriage to his fiancée of three years, Emily Montgomery (Joan Cusack), while the whole town is abuzz with the news that hometown boy turned Hollywood megastar Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is picked as the favorite to win the Best Actor gong at the Academy Awards for his performance in a war film as a gay soldier. At Oscar night, the whole town is watching as Drake wins the award, and dedicates his award to Howard...

* CastFullOfGay: Not actually, but [[spoiler: poor, twice-rejected Emily]] ''thinks'' she's trapped in one. "Is EVERYBODY gay? Is this like the TwilightZone?"

--> '''Emily:''' Is everyone gay?! Is this the TwilightZone?!

* AffectionateParody: Of conservative, small town life and also of attitudes towards gay people at the time([[AndZoidberg and to a lesser extent, Hollywood]]). The film easily could have transformed Howard's friends, family, and students into bigoted {{Jerkass}}' after Cameron outed him, but they are portrayed as more confused about the issue than anything.

* ''[[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Very]]'' [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Loosely Based On A True Story]]: The plot was {{inspired by}} Tom Hanks' acceptance speech for his ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'' Oscar, where Hanks thanked a gay teacher that he didn't know was still closeted.

Has nothing to do with the superlative West-coast burger joint.

* ShamingTheMob: Not a violent one, but rather an apathetic one. [[spoiler:Cameron Drake starts it off by asking questions which destroy their farce of a story that Howard "resigned for the good of the students." Then his students claim they are gay, because it rubbed off of them from Howard. Then his brother Walter steps in to shame the community by claiming he still likes his brother and admits, by the faculty's logic, he must be gay as well. Then Howard's parents claim their gay. Then the whole town slowly stands up in support.]]

* ShameTheMob: Not a violent one, but rather an apathetic one. [[spoiler:Cameron Drake starts it off by asking questions which destroy their farce of a story that Howard "resigned for the good of the students." Then his students claim they are gay, because it rubbed off of them from Howard. Then his brother Walter steps in to shame the community by claiming he still likes his brother and admits, by the faculty's logic, he must be gay as well. Then Howard's parents claim their gay. Then the whole town slowly stands up in support.]]

-->'''Aldo:''' ''{{Yentl}}'' sucks.
-->'''Crowd:''' Oooh!
-->'''Howard:''' What did you say?
-->'''Aldo:''' It sucks. It's boring.
-->'''Howard:''' Say that again.
-->'''Aldo:''' [[BarbraStreisand She]] was [[DawsonCasting too old]] for ''{{Yentl}}''!
--> *Cue bar brawl*

-->'''Carl:''' Why is everyone talking about Howard?
-->'''Mrs. Lester:''' Because he likes [[PrecisionFStrike DICK]], Carl!
-->'''Carl:''' Oh. [''Beat.''] Who's Dick?
* EveryoneIsGay:

* FiredTeacher

* IAmSpartacus: Everyone at the graduation ceremony [[spoiler:coming to Howard's aid when he's fired.]]

* StraightGay / FlamboyantGay: Howard and Molloy both straddle the line, Malloy leaning towards Straight and Howard towards Flamboyant.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It may seem strange to some latter-day viewers when the entire town freaks out over the possibility that the high school English teacher is gay. Even if one assumes such a thing could still happen in a small town, it's odd to see the principal be so blunt about firing Howard on the basis of his sexual orientation.