Line #6 YMMV/InAndOut


1	* AccidentalAesop: "It is wrong to fire someone based on their sexual orientation," after the board of education fired Howard after coming out (although they denied the cause as Howard's sexual orientation, it was obvious that was the real reason). The only reason this is an accidental Aesop instead of an intentional one, was this was in the '90s when people still thought it was illegal to terminate employment based on sexuality, although nowadays it's all too painfully obvious this is not the case (in reality, Indiana was and still is one of the 29 states where it is perfectly legal to fire someone for being gay). This also gives the movie a new relevance to issues concerning gay rights in today's society. It also becomes HilariousInHindsight in the case of ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bostock_v._Clayton_County Bostock v. Clayton County]]'' (June 15, 2020), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is indeed wrong to fire someone based on their sexual orientation.
2	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Is Hollywood star Cameron Drake really an honest supporter of gay rights, or is he just using gay equality as a platform to increase his own recognition? What really calls this into question was his acceptance speech, where after he thanks his former teacher for inspiring him, he deliberately blurts out "... and he's gay!" When you look at the speech alone the closer is so awkward that it comes off more as a desperate attempt for attention, instead of as giving credit to someone who inspired you. Of course, he spends the entire rest of the movie trying to make up for his gaffe once he's realized it, so the movie clearly intends him to be a fairly moral and considerate sort of person who just screwed up.
3	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The movie's use of "Macho Man" is quite catchy during the DancePartyEnding.
4	* FairForItsDay: Despite some of the ValuesDissonance around gay stereotypes in the movie, the kiss between Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck [[https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/09/in-and-out-movie-anniversary-kevin-kline-paul-rudnick-barbra-streisand genuinely shocked many audiences]] at the time of the movie's release. In fact, according to the screenwriter, many audiences expected the twist to be that Kevin Kline's character was actually ''straight'', and were surprised by the twist that it was actually a ComingOutStory.
5	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
6	** "Volume One: '[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8YKAp7o53E Get a Grip!]]'."
7	** "Fuck Music/BarbraStreisand!"
8	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: [[spoiler: When Cameron tells poor, insecure Emily she was BeautifulAllAlong.]]
9	* HilariousInHindsight: One of the Best Actor nominees Cameron is up against is none other than Creator/ClintEastwood, for a film called ''Codger''. While intended to be a TakeThat at Eastwood's advanced age, ''Film/GranTorino'' essentially brought the idea to life 11 years later.
10	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
11	** 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.]]
12	** 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, so the idea that Howard could still get married someday is not out of the question.
13	*** Considering the [[WeddingBellsForSomeoneElse brief fakeout]] in the ending with the 'unusual couple', it's not exactly ''never'' brought up. Ceremonies that were effectively gay marriages without the more straightforwardly-applied legal bond were becoming fairly common by the mid-late nineties.
14	** The fact that being gay means being attracted to someone of the same gender is also never brought up verbally, confusingly, though the fact that the straw that broke the camel's back was being kissed by a man, after years of kissed women, might speak for itself.
15	* ValuesDissonance: The film has an unfortunate tendency to reinforce assumptions about what types of personal traits, interests, tastes, etc. are inherently "gay", even as it mocks its characters' espousal of those same stereotypes.
16	** Given that the screenwriter [[OffendingTheCreatorsOwn is openly gay himself]], this could just be RuleOfFunny.
17	** It may be closer to HarsherInHindsight than ValuesDissonance, as 20 years later, ''many'' of the stereotypes parodied have yet to fade from public consciousness.

Context YMMV / InAndOut