Well hello there, my lovely moviegoing bi buddies! I hope this column finds you in the theater with only the butteriest of popcorn and the crispiest of sodas in hand.
It seems like a bit of a rite of passage to be exposed to some sort of adult material — be it a movie seen at a way-too-young age to process (watching Stand By Me at 5 over here) or headlines talking about very grown-up topics, so we learn about things too early in the game. But something I think about a lot is learning the term “public lewdness” from the infamous 1998 George Michael case — the result of a police sting working to out citizens.
It’s not a pretty part of queer history, these operations, but it is an important part of the story for queer men in particular. So when I saw that the indie film Plainclothes was exploring this theme, I knew I had to take a look at it on behalf of the Unicorn Scale.
But before I get into the nitty-gritty, a quick disclaimer: there will be SPOILERS for this 2025 drama. Major content warnings include homophobia and biphobia, brief discussions of AIDS, and the death of a parent. Finally, if this is your first time around the Scale, or you would just like a refresher on the metric we’re discussing, you can do so here.
All set? Then off we go.
Set in the late nineties around Syracuse late in the year, Plainclothes focuses on Lucas (Tom Blyth), a young police officer who works undercover (hence, in plainclothes). He works as part of a sting operation to lure in and arrest queer men in a mall bathroom to charge them for lewd public conduct. But when Andrew (Russell Tovy), a gentle older man, enters the potential police entrapment, Lucas finds himself torn between duty and desire.
What I Liked:
First and foremost, I should make it clear Lucas is definitely bi. Still reeling from the loss of his father Gus, Lucas’ ex-girlfriend Emily (Amy Forsyth) comes by after Gus’ funeral to pick up some things after a breakup. It becomes clear the couple loved each other and were attracted to each other, but that Lucas’ attraction to Andrew isn’t coming out of nowhere.
When Andrew calls, Lucas hides it, but Emily recognizes his anxiety and directly references an earlier conversation in which Lucas admitted he thought he might like guys, too. His attraction to Andrew, then, is not presented as coming out of nowhere or as erasing what he felt for Emily.
Plainclothes often shoots from a literal bi gaze, showing people and events from Lucas’ point-of-view when the story switches from film to using VHS footage from his vantage point. We see his gaze this way, lingering longingly on both Emily as well as Andrew at different points of the story.
Lucas is a fully realized bi male lead. We get to see him have desires and fulfill them, express hopes as well as fears, and dream of going somewhere with less judgment one day, like San Francisco. But he has his flaws, too. Lucas lies about his name to Andrew (instead giving his father’s name), abuses his police resources to track Andrew down, and struggles with anger, panic attacks, and trying to regulate himself in times of high emotional stress. Lucas’ fixation on Andrew also leads to turmoil when he visits him at his church — Andrew is a reverend — and accidentally outs him to his family.
However, despite what could have easily moved into tragedy territory like hitting the #KillYourGays trope, Lucas survives in his own surprising way. He confronts his homophobic uncle after months (if not years) of homophobic remarks, defending his father when Uncle Paulie begins to slight Gus’ memory when he thinks Gus may have been gay. We also see Lucas (in so many words) come out to his mother about his queer awakening — who, in a harrowing final moment, shows signs of acceptance and love instead of dismissal. We also see Lucas acknowledge to Emily he is seeing Andrew in his final scene with her. She accepts him, noting she can be a safe haven for him if need be in her new work base in New York.
Also, it may seem like a small thing, but I really loved a brief discussion Lucas and Andrew had about the use of condoms — both in case their attraction moved into deeper sexual territory, and the general importance of its use during this era. Though neither of the characters indicates they are HIV positive, it was just a good slice of verisimilitude to have that discussed and then utilized — it so often falls to the wayside in queer films, particularly romances or historical ones. (I can say anecdotally as someone who lived through the 1990s that condom usage was discussed all. the. time.)
What I Didn’t Like:
Unfortunately, the movie does not use the term “bi”, though the word was definitely known and used by the time of the story. This feels like a real missed opportunity with Lucas — not that he wouldn’t still have had to be on the DL, but it would have felt nicer to call a spade a spade.
It was also painful to see the character of Uncle Paulie (Gabe Fazio) be both casually homophobic and then even turn on his own brother-in-law (Lucas’ father) as soon as he suspects he may have been gay. (Andrew’s letter was addressed to “Gus”, hence Paulie assuming Gus had an affair with a man when he found it.) But (unfortunately, I can also say from personal experience) this was and still is not uncommon to see play out today.
Much of the marketing and the interviews from the actors frame Plainclothes purely as a gay love story. Though I surmise Andrew is a closeted gay man (from how he wrote about him and his family finding a balance with his secret), I do think this is an example of bi erasure for Lucas more than an awakening from compulsive heteronormativity. And that’s a real shame.
The Rating:
I’ve lived long enough to notice how nostalgia works across generations. It often celebrates the style and romance of a decade while looking past its real crises. So when I see nineties nostalgia returning in fashion and storytelling, it gives me pause. It is easy to view the era through rose-colored glasses and forget the less-shiny realities of the time, especially for queer people and our bi ancestors. Luckily, Plainclothes gives Lucas a happier ending than he would normally receive in a story like this, even if it is not a typical Hollywood happy ending. I just wish the film had stuck the bi landing.
Still, I was hopeful Lucas would eventually find a way to his own form of an escape to a place of greater acceptance — to his own San Francisco.
