Funny ‘In & Out’ Shows a Kiss Is Good for a Smile

Who would have thought a generation ago that a high school teacher’s homosexuality could be A) the topic of a charming hit comedy, B) a comedy kids adore, and C) a comedy that Orange County parents consider a fun family outing? But in the post-”Ellen,” post-”Wong Foo” ’90s, what sends kids into fits of giggles isn’t the sight of two male movie stars kissing on the silver screen--but the fact that it lasts so long.

Friends Julie Sarkissian, 14, of Modjeska and Kristin Chung, 14, of Anaheim Hills said they laughed throughout the movie. “It was hilarious,” Julie said, “totally our sense of humor, corny and everything.”

Like the high school students in the super-traditional small town of Greenleaf, Ind., Orange County kids immediately liked the dedicated and caring teacher/coach Howard Brackett and got a kick out of how oblivious he is to his own fastidiousness.

“It was funny when he was riding his bicycle with his little bow tie and when he pulled up his socks when he kicked the kickstand,” Julie said.

It is Brackett’s former student Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon), now a Hollywood screen idol, who turns the town upside down while accepting an Academy Award for a performance as a gay soldier. He thanks his former drama coach and blurts out--”and he’s gay!”

The town is divided among folks who knew what his Barbra Streisand obsession was about, those who want him fired if Drake’s remark is true and those--including his mother (Debbie Reynolds) and his fiancee (Joan Cusack)--who just want a wedding to go on regardless. Meanwhile, Greenleaf is besieged by tabloid media, including a gay TV newscaster (Tom Selleck) who leads Brackett to overcome his denial and admit his orientation after the infamous kiss.

It was the embarrassment quotient that made it funny, some kids commented. But Julie said, “I think they went a little bit too far for me.”

After the wedding goes awry, kids liked how other women consoled Brackett’s mother and how they revealed some of their own shameful secrets. But some thought the ending, where the disparate community members show their support for Brackett at graduation, was a little farfetched.

Though the movie was funny, it didn’t make fun of gays, agreed Brianna Lee and Colleen Nanry, both 11 and from Tustin. “It was like ‘The Nutty Professor’ joking about people being overweight,” Brianna said. “It’s not making fun of people.”

Underlying the humor is a gentle message about compassion and acceptance--not only for gays but also for the less-than-thin. The actor played by Dillon rejects a model girlfriend (who has to throw up before photo shoots) in favor of Brackett’s fiancee, telling her that she needn’t have lost weight to be acceptable. Said Brianna: “Girls are always worrying about if they look good. A lot of time it’s what people only care about, so that’s a good message.”

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Parents’ Perspective: “We would never have seen a movie like this when we were growing up,” said Butch Lee, who along with his wife, Lisa, enjoyed it as much as their kids. He liked the low-key lessons for youngsters. “They need to be aware there’s nothing wrong with those people. They’re truly born that way, and it doesn’t rub off on [students] from the teacher.”

He liked the ending, he said. “It showed acceptance from the community. I thought it was terrific.”

As a Catholic, Lisa was “a tiny bit uncomfortable” that a priest in the movie advises Brackett (pretending to describe the sexual confusion of a friend on the eve of his wedding) to have sex before marriage.

Butch said he had expected the kiss between Kline and Selleck, but he, too, was shocked and surprised at the duration. “It went on, and on, and on, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, look at this! This is gutsy!’ ”

* FAMILY FILMGOER, Page 19