Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Dreadfully Boring

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

*Warning the following analysis contains a discussion of the entire film – including the ending.This Seattle based film may be the most emotionally stirring documentary I have ever witnessed. I must admit to tears 2 or 3 different times over the almost 2 hours. Perhaps the most surprising element of this powerful documentary is its simple (almost mundane) subject matter: a group of regular people talking about the people they love.The hook to most documentaries is some extraordinary event (historical or personal), or a look into a world that is exotic, foreign, surprising or unknown in some way – something we have never seen before. By contrast the subject matter of Inlaws and Outlaws, ordinary falling in love, is extremely well known to us all and the stories are told with few starling events, nothing shocking, nothing in fact that you probably have not heard (or actually experienced) before. Yet the stories carry an impact that is emotionally overpowering.Inlaws and Outlaws documents the relationships of a number of couples, mostly gay and lesbian, and has each simply tell their story of love. What is extraordinary is the courage some of the couples displayed by laying their most intimate emotions before the camera. You leave feeling you have witnessed what is most beautiful in humanity.Further, the film is frequently hilarious and always entertaining. The director, Drew Emery, has inserted poignant musical pieces (performed by a jazz singer and band in a night club setting) to set up each new segment and allows us to think about what has come before. Further, the musical device divides the talk into the different parts of the relationships. And the final scene where the singer performs "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and we slowly realize the crowd dancing is made up of the couples from the film provides an unexpected and perfect closing to their stories and this powerful film.Some of the couple we meet: A lesbian couple who were brought up Mormon and fought internal conflicts stemming from religious and family pressures for years before finally coming together. They had been lovers since high school but one of the two decided to marry and fake a 'traditional' life. She could not, and found the courage to put aside her guilt and family disowning to be with her true love.There is an older man whose lover recently died after 50 years together. They found it necessary to remain closeted their entire lives with many friends thinking they were brothers. Also having grown up in an abusive household he tells how his father would have literally killed him if his homosexuality was discovered. The depth and beauty of their relationship is clear as he talks of their life together, and it is impossible not to cry when he speaks of David's death.There are a couple of older lesbian couples who tell simple yet beautiful stories of love. And it is these older couples that are most powerful and which brought me to tears. Why? Perhaps because you feel their love is most pure somehow. They have left behind social pressures such as marriage or children, have moved beyond superficialities of beauty or status, and have come together simply and purely for love. And any film that can project that kind of beauty and make you feel that pure goodness of love is more than entertainment, it is life inspiring and emotionally cathartic.There is a sad and still raw story of a divorce initiated by a husband who accepted he was gay in his 40s after years of marriage and children.And then there is the young lesbian couple that is held up as the hero couple of the film – the hero relationship (in social terms). No, not because their love is any more strong or they had to overcome anything more difficult; rather because their relationship is the most easy and accepted, the most 'ordinary' of the gay relationships. They met, fell in love and got married in a traditional ceremony surround by friends and family and live together happily as wife and wife. Their relationship is the point of the film – this is how it should be but how it is not. It is a human rights message of the radical ordinary – I dare you to see these loving couples and maintain their love deserves any less recognition than straight love; I dare you to find the difference between the heterosexual and homosexual relationships.Should you see it? Absolutely, you will find what is most beautiful in humanity.

The individuals who participated in this documentary could easily be anyone's sister, brother, uncle, aunt, grandparent even. The relationships are genuine, beautiful examples of the strength of love.This film should be required viewing for everyone. For those individuals who doubt real love can exist between same sex people, this film will be enlightening to them. Love is love, respect is respect, but most of all, love is not defined by society, it is defined by two people who care deeply for one another.This documentary demonstrates the truth about the majority of gay and lesbian relationships, rather than the stereotypical 1% of gay and lesbian folks on whom heterosexuals make their false judgements on the remaining 99% of gays and lesbians.See the film, judge for yourselves. It is worth your time.

I saw this film at a packed theater in Cleveland. The film brought me to tears, made me laugh, made me think, and made me want to get its message out to others. The emotional depth of this movie is bound to affect even the most hardened person. The stories of these people are the stories of all of us. Young/old, black/white, straight/gay, and how important and affirming the recognition of marriage, no matter what its definition, is. This is a movie with a message, and that message rings loud and clear, that everyone counts. I hope to share this film with everyone I know, and maybe even some I don't know. I plan on petitioning my church to show the film. I encourage everyone to see this film.

I'm a married guy with a wife of 22 years. She dragged me to what I thought would be a "chick flick," as part of the Palm Springs Festival. I don't mean anything disparaging by that term, but I was expecting a movie that was all about hearts and flowers and happily ever after and that it would would be either sappy or preachy or both.Far from it! In-laws/Outlaws was fresh, funny, moving and I found it engrossing. This flick is about love and, to a lesser degree, about marriage. But it just rings so TRUE. When's the last time you went to the movies and saw an HONEST portrayal of what it takes to find true love? Not Hollywood love. The real deal. These are just stories of ordinary people, and though I'm not myself gay, I found myself nodding a lot with some of the experiences, missteps and lessons learned from what some of the gays in relationships had gone through. I saw Brokeback Mountain and "got it", I guess but it left me feeling just sad for gay people. This movie made me forget who was gay and made me feel pretty darn good to be alive.In fact, In-laws/Outlaws was a movie that made me fall in love with my wife all over again. And it was funny, very surprisingly funny, and gripping and very satisfying. I can't remember going to a film and coming out so high and inspired. I just wanted to go out and hug the world and tell them everything's going to be okay.Go see it if it ever makes it your way. I talked to one of the producers and I guess they'll have a DVD eventually. Either way, there's no way to describe why a simple movie like this would be so effective and entertaining. I guess it fills a long-neglected spot. It's the real deal about love.