I Freakin' Love This Movie: In & Out.

Having spent a bit of time bitching about movies that were terrible (Chuck & Larry, It's A Boy/Girl Thing) I thought it was high time to talk about a movie that I love, and that movie is In & Out.

In & Out is a gay movie. Specifically, it's a gay, white, cisgendered, male, small-town, able, full-size, nondenominational-Christian movie, but it can be summed up pretty well as a gay white cisgendered movie, since those are the biggest cultural factors.

The story is about Howard Brackett, a mild-mannered English teacher who has been engaged to the same woman for three years. A few short days before his wedding, he is unintentionally outed by an earlier student of his during his Oscar acceptance speech. Hilarity ensues.

The premise of the movie is about the challenges Howard goes through as an involuntarily-outed gay man in a small, reserved, semi-conservative town. It does not go well - not only does he have to deal with the gossip of the locals, but his own self-made mess when he realizes that, in fact, he is gay.

Before I get to the meat of the review, I want to say this. This movie is so white and able it hurts. There are no POC in Greenleaf. None. This was probably done to bolster the idea of Greenleaf as a "wholesome" town, which is a sickening commentary on the perceived "wholesomeness" of white people. There are no clearly disabled people save an old woman with a walker and Howard's slightly mentally-challenged brother, who is treated as something of an embarrassment (not hugely, but still noticeably). Just to be clear, I have nothing against white movies about able people, but this one really made me stop and go "lolwhut?"

And that's really the worst I can say, because the rest of the movie is awesome.

In & Out attacks the kyriarchy on several fronts. First there's the obvious "gay" front - Howard's mishaps in being outed, then coming out, then being accepted. Then there's the "heteronormativity/gender nonconformist" front - while Howard is shown with some stereotypically gay traits that someone might jump on, it's also show that a lot of people in Greenleaf have something "gay" about them, from Howard's male hairstylist to his buddies who enjoy watching Barbra Streisand movies with him. Conformity to some oversexed idea of masculinity, the movie says, is overrated.

Next up: women and fatness. This movie had so much potential to go wrong here. Howard's fiancé, Emily, is a woman whose low self-esteem issues pushed her to lose weight in time to fit into the right size of wedding dress (which she succeeded at - and was continually miserable about because it was such a battle). Furthermore, it turns out that she forced herself to stay in a celibate relationship for three years just because she thought Howard was the only one who would have her, and whaddya know? She was pretty darned horny after all that time. She's messed up, and that could have gone really badly. As luck would have it, though, breaking up with Howard is the best thing that ever happened to her, as she later finds true love with someone who is both straight and into chubby ladies, and the lesson (as is true for Howard) is that you will be much happier if you're loved for who you are instead of forcing yourself into someone else's ideal.

Another great Emily thing was the breakdown/fight at the church, right after Howard comes out. She is pissed. I mean, really pissed. Her sudden exclamation of "Fuck Barbra Streisand!" is one of the best points of the movie, highlighting the sheer amount of rage and frustration she feels at being essentially lied to by the guy she was supposed to marry for three years. Her rage is totally understandable and justifiable, and whaddya know? The supporting characters feel the same way. Even Howard, who's just freaked out the entire town by coming out, lost his job, and is otherwise sort of despondent, takes the time to apologize for ruining her life. It's almost like this movie was written by a woman, rather than Paul Rudnick. And then she goes and finds true love with a guy who, at least in my eyes, is at least 3x hotter than she is. Win/win.

(The movie touches on transgenderism once, in passing, in the sense that "being gay does not mean you want a sex change." Which is a good point to make.)

Now, this movie is at its heart a comedy - and fear not, it is hilarious. It pokes fun at the movie industry, including Oscars and outrageously vain celebrities, at over-reserved nondenominational white Christians, at the tendency of dudes in charge to completely overreact at a sudden case of teh ghey, and at the whole concept of heteronormativity from both male and female standpoints (though mostly male). It's also a very sweet movie, with lovable characters and a heartwarming-yet-hilarious climax that should not be missed. All in all, it's worth at least one viewing - personally, I'm up to three.