After a series of murders in the LA gay community, straight police sergeant Benson (Ryan O'Neal) is assigned to the case. He is ordered to go undercover as half of a gay couple. The other partner is officer Kerwin (John Hurt), a mousy police clerk everyone in the department knows is gay, although he thinks he's closeted. Benson is horrified at the thought, while Kerwin is shy, apprehensive, and would prefer to work in the office. In order to be noticed they have to be flamboyant enough to attract attention which Benson finds disturbing. The couple adopt their homosexual disguises, which include a lavender Volkswagen, a lavender jogging outfit for Kerwin, and lots of tight-fitting jeans and tank tops for Benson. They set up housekeeping in an apartment house filled with gays. At first, Benson's slovenly ways annoy Kerwin, whose sexual orientation and prissy manners are a source of annoyance for Benson. The film derives much of its humor from Benson's discomfort with homosexuality and his stereotypical ideas of "gay behaviour". Benson must tolerate the passes of aging queens and play the role of hustler in an effort to obtain information. Kerwin instructs Benson in the tricks of the trade, much of which is foreign even to him. Most of the time he putters around their apartment, cooking gourmet meals, emptying ashtrays, and looking grief-stricken when Benson brings home a woman to sleep with. We are shown the evolution of Benson's attitudes toward Kerwin and gay people in general. As the pair close in on the murderer, Kerwin reveals himself to be a far more capable cop than Benson assumes him to be.
This movie was made long before the openness of the the gay community and may seem somewhat simplistic in the way it deals with the subject, but that is part of what makes it so funny. It is respectful of both sides, and allows us to see what stereotyping is capable of leading to. Film critic Rex Reed wrote in the New York Post: "Hollywood's latest crime against humanity in general and homosexuals in particular is a dumb creepshow called "Partners"--stupid, tasteless and homophobic, this sleazy, superficial film implies that gay cops can't be trusted to work with straight cops because they might fall in love with them." Georges Delerue composed the music, Francis Veber wrote the screenplay, and James Burrows directed.
