Up until now, films dealing with homosexuality have tackled the topic in one of two ways. Either the movie has been maudlin, beyond obvious, and stocked with enough P.C. to kill 2 Live Crew ("Philadelphia") or it's been full of stereotypes and broad, farcical comedy ("The Birdcage"). Gays are portrayed as serious boring folk or wacky crossdressers who walk funny and talk with a lisp. This was the state of homosexuality in films, until now.

"In & Out," the new comedy written by gay screenwriter Paul Rudnick, goes far in destroying this disturbing status quo. The movie seems to be completely aware of the current status of gays in film as either martyrs or comic relief, and takes great joy in slaughtering those stereotypes. Yet its real mission is to damn the politics of homosexuality to hell and just offer a warm and funny comedy, a fable about acceptance and the search for self.

The film begins in the small Indiana town of Greenleaf, where we meet Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline), a popular teacher and member of the community who is to be married in about a week. A series of scenes in and around the high school establish Howard as the kind of guy you'd not only want teaching your kids, but probably raising them if he had the time. Characters and dialogue meander comfortably down the avenues and lanes of the film until the big Academy Awards telecast, where former Greenleaf resident Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) is nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. At this point the film's satire and lampoon kick into high gear and keep roaring until the last frame. Drake announces to the world that Howard Brackett is gay, which he believes he is not. The town is thrown into an uproar and controversy, which explodes when Howard shares a hot kiss with gay television reporter Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) and slowly realizes that he in fact is gay, a revelation which devestates his fiancee Emily (Joan Cusack) as well as his parents. The rest of "In & Out" then deals with the repercussions of Howard's discovery, and the efforts of this small town to replace fear with acceptance.

To approach "In & Out" fairly, one has to accept it as fable. Only in a fable could the homophobia of small-town America be personified in Bob Newhart, and only in a fable could you accept Matt Dillon dancing with Joan Cusack to Patsy Cline's "Crazy" in front of a roadside bar. The film's status as fable also accounts for Rudnick's tremendous faith in the compassion of midwestern conservatives. Perhaps this is where the gauze separating "In & Out" from reality is thinnest; the town of Greenleaf seems like it should be a place where a homosexual high school teacher would be sent packing, not embraced by elderly and students alike.

At the same time, this is the challenge Rudnick is making: aren't all people capable of accepting difference, especially homosexuality, by showing love and compassion to everyone and not just those who do not challenge our long-held systems of belief? He and director Frank Oz make this point firmly and confidently, never allowing the film's comedy to descend into irony or the film's satire to stab the wrong targets too sharply. The shallowness of Hollywood is reviled and diced to pieces, but the inhabitants of Greenleaf are spared, rendered with loving care by the writing and especially the performances. Klein shines the brightest, crafting a character who is believably straight and gay at the appropriate times in the film. His performance is infused with an unerring comic timing. But it's Selleck who makes perhaps the most powerful impression. His work is warm and effortless; after watching him struggle through comic roles in "Folks!" and "Mr. Baseball," it's nice to see him turn in a performance that demonstrates his true gifts.

It is the loving care of the filmmakers and actors which allows the viewer to feel a genuine affection for the characters in "In & Out," and it is this affection which allows the characters' compassion and acceptance to escape cynicism. When Rudnick and Oz aren't cracking cheap shots at wafer-thin models, there is a gentleness and warmth about their comedy; it seems to say to the audience, "You and I know that these folks think they aren't ready to accept this gay teacher, but give them a chance and they'll surprise you." In much the same way, "In & Out" surprises; it is a warm fable that avoids cynicism, oversentimentality, and the pitfalls of stereotyping in creating a great film that just happens to be about homosexuality. When characters and story are placed before social issues in the making of movies, wonderful things can happen.