''Plain Clothes'' is a 1988 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Martha Coolidge Martha Coolidge (born August 17, 1946) is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. She has directed such films as ''Valley Girl'', ''Real Genius'' and '' Rambling Rose''. Early life Coolidge was born in N ...

and starring

Arliss Howard Leslie Richard "Arliss" Howard (born October 18, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director. He is known for his roles in the films ''Full Metal Jacket'' (1987), '' Tequila Sunrise'' (1988), '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (19 ...

Plot

Undercover cop Nick Dunbar's (

) brother Matt (

Loren Dean Loren Dean (born July 31, 1969) is an American actor. He has appeared on stage and in feature films. Early life Loren Dean Jovicic was born July 31, 1969, in Las Vegas, Nevada. His parents divorced when he was a small child. His mother won custo ...

) is accused of killing his teacher, Mr. Bradwood (Mack Harrell) at Adlai Stevenson High School. Nick loses his temper with Hechtor (

Larry Pine Larry Pine (born March 3, 1945) is an American actor. A veteran of the Broadway stage, he began his career playing the role of Fop in the 1968 production of ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. He has since starred in film and television, with recurring roles ...

), the detective in charge, and gets suspended. Nick's partner Ed (

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

) pretends to be Nick's dad to enroll him as a student. Matt gives Nick pointers to get people to talk to him. Nick deals with bullies, girls with crushes on him, teachers and staff who range from quirky to bizarre, and a teacher, Robin Torrence ( Suzy Amis), to whom he is attracted who thinks he is a teen. The turning point in his popularity (and therefore his ability to get information) happens in the classroom metaphor scene, in which E.E. Cummings' poem ''she being brand new'', is used in its entirety. Along the way, Nick and Ed narrow the probable motives down to jealousy (Bradwood was trading grades for sex with Dawn-Marie Zeffer ( Alexandra Powers), the girlfriend of Kyle Kerns (

Peter Dobson Peter Dobson (born July 19, 1964) is an American actor. His film roles include appearances in '' Sing'' (1989), ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' (1989), ''The Marrying Man'' (1991), ''The Frighteners'' (1996), and ''Drowning Mona'' (2000), in addition t ...

), the leader of the bullies) or self-preservation (Bradwood was blackmailing some staff about running a real estate scam on the other teachers). Nick's identity is discovered by Jane Melway ( Diane Ladd), one of the con artist's gang, and it all comes to a head at the Pagan May Fest (the school's mascots are the Pagans). Nick and Ed find out that they are probably on the wrong track - Chet Butler (

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...

), one of the gang's members is missing and an emotional confession from Melway points to Butler as the murderer - not to stop the blackmail, but because Bradwood was engaged to Melway, with whom Butler used to have an affair and whom he still loves. Bradwood also found the love letters in which Butler claims to have killed Melway's husband. Butler appears and implicates himself with words and actions. A chase ensues, ending with Nick being cornered finding the evidence that cements Butler's guilt. Nick is saved twice in quick succession, once by a schoolmate's opportune distraction, and once by an excellent shot of Ed's at the perfect time. Nick makes a date with Robin Torrence, who now knows he is an adult, and the real-estate scammers are arrested. Hector looks very foolish. Matt is released from jail and can't wait to get back to school.

Cast

as Nick Dunbar * Suzy Amis as Robin Torrence *

as Chet Butler * Diane Ladd as Jane Melway *

as Ed Malmburg *

Abe Vigoda Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and '' Fish'' (1977–19 ...

as Mr. Wiseman *

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the highly successful ABC tele ...

as Mr. Gardner *

as Dave Hechtor * Alexandra Powers as Dawn-Marie Zeffer *

as Kyle Kerns *

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

as Simon Feck *

as Matt Dunbar *

Reginald VelJohnson Reginald VelJohnson (born Reginald VelJohnson; August 16, 1952) is an American actor. He is best known for playing police officer characters, such as Carl Winslow on the sitcom ''Family Matters,'' which ran from 1989 to 1998, and LAPD Sergeant ...

as Captain Graff *

Max Perlich Max Perlich (born March 26, 1968) is an American film and television actor. In 1990, Perlich won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the hit indie film '' Drugstore Cowboy'' and was nominated for the same ...

as Carter * Phoebe Augustine as Girl at Fair

Reception

''Plain Clothes'' was not widely distributed or reviewed, with critics responding negatively to the film. In her review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

wrote, "''Plain Clothes'' tries to combine a police investigation story with the usual classroom and locker-room stuff. Less would not necessarily have been more, but it would have been shorter." In his review for the '' Miami Herald'', Juan Carlos Coto wrote, "Potentially hilarious moments seem to straggle by like students playing hooky, and the whodunit plot gets dumber and more contrived at every turn."

References

External links

* * * * {{Scott Frank 1988 films 1988 comedy films American comedy films 1980s English-language films Paramount Pictures films Films with screenplays by Scott Frank Films directed by Martha Coolidge 1980s American films