Kevin Kline is Howard Brackett, an English Lit teacher at a high school in small-town Indiana. He leads an ordinary, simple life. Until Oscar night, that is.

During an acceptance speech, a former student tells the world he would like to thank Howard for being his inspiration because he’s gay. Howard is — not the actor.

So now the entire town, in fact the entire world, knows Howard is gay. There’s just one problem: Howard has been forced out of a closet he was never in.

He says he is straight. He can’t be gay because he is supposed to marry fellow instructor Emily Montgomery in a few days time.

So, is he or isn’t he? That is the question posed in the very funny new movie “In & Out.”

First, let’s look at the facts. Howard loves to read literature and poetry. He’s smart, very tidy and well dressed. He has great fashion sense as well as an eye for interior design.

During his three year engagement, he and Emily have never had a physical relationship. Plus, calling him “prissy” would be a major understatement.

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Yep, sounds gay to me.”

If you aren’t already convinced, here’s the clincher: Howard is a huge Barbara Streisand fan. So, we have the stereotypical image of a gay man. The question remains, is he or isn’t he?

Yeah, like I’m just going to tell you. Movie reviews don’t work that way. Duh.

I will tell you this movie has one of the best casts I’ve seen assembled in a very long time. Kline is fantastic as Howard.

There is one scene in particular which was absolutely hysterical. Howard is listening to a self-help tape so he can be more masculine when the tape informs him, “Real men don’t dance. Ever.”

Then the music takes over. Howard tries to stop himself but just can’t. The key to great physical comedy is not being afraid to appear foolish, and Kline is one of the best at it. I guess we can add “likes to dance” to the evidence.

The rest of the cast is basically perfect. There’s Joan Cusack as Howard’s fiance. Not that this matters, but years ago I thought Joan and her brother John were the same person.

Anyway, Joan is great here as the neurotic bride-to-be who just found out her fiance might be gay. (I still think Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson may be the same person.)

Tom Selleck plays a gay TV journalist who makes Howard his major story. I know what you’re thinking. Magnum, gay? Maybe Higgins, but definitely not Magnum.

Selleck is funny here, and it’s nice to see him in a role where he gets to display his comic abilities.

Howard’s parents are played by Wilford Brimley and Debbie Reynolds. It’s great to watch the two try and deal with the possibility that their son may be gay. Plus, it is worth the price of admission to hear Reynolds stand up and declare, “I’m a lesbian?”

She says that line at a mass coming out during the high school’s graduation, which is one of the few things I didn’t like in the movie. The scene seemed too hokey and contrived.

I know I still haven’t told you whether Howard is gay or straight and it really doesn’t matter. This is a comedy, not an “issue movie” exploring how gays are accepted, or not accepted, in small town America.

As a comedy, its duty is to make me laugh. To say the least, I laughed a lot in two hours.

4 stars out of five.

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Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines.