Undercover cop Nick Dunbar's brother Matt is accused of killing his teacher, Mr. Bradwood, at Adlai Stevenson High School.

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.

In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "Plain Clothes tries to combine a police investigation story with the usual classroom and locker-room stuff.

"[1] 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.

"[2] Released briefly, to only 193 theatres in the United States and Canada, Plain Clothes grossed $$289,323 at the box office,[3] against a budget of $7.5 million.