François Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) is a divorced man who lives a very bland life with his 17 year-old son Franck (Stanislas Crevillén) who ignores him. When he learns he is going to be fired from his job as an accountant in a rubber factory, he contemplates suicide, but his neighbor Jean-Pierre Belone (Michel Aumont), a former psychologist prevents him from jumping from his balcony and suggests a way to keep his position. He proposes to start a rumor Pignon is homosexual by inserting his image in sexually provocative snapshots of a gay couple in a bar and anonymously mailing them to his boss. Because the factory's primary product is condoms, the gay community's support is essential, and his boss M. Kopel (Jean Rochefort) will be forced to keep Pignon on the payroll in order to be politically correct.
Pignon does not change his usual mild and self-effacing behavior and mannerisms in any way as part of his masquerade, but because his supervisors and co-workers begin to regard him in a new light, seeing him as exotic rather than dull, his life becomes unexpectedly and dramatically better. Félix Santini (Gérard Depardieu), a homophobic co-worker who used to harass him, is warned he could be fired for discrimination if he continues to belittle Pignon, so he becomes friendly.
The company enters a float in a local gay pride parade, and Pignon must ride on it. His divorced wife and son see him when the event is televised. The son is happy to learn his father, whom he always considered boring, has a wilder side, and expresses an interest in spending more time with him. His suspicious ex-wife Christine (Alexandra Vandernoot) invites Pignon to dinner and demands an explanation. He has by this point gained enough self-confidence to tell her exactly what he thinks of her.
Meanwhile, Santini's charade of friendship has developed into an obsessive attraction. His wife suspects him of having an affair when she finds a receipt for an expensive pink cashmere sweater, and leaves him when he buys Pignon chocolates. After this, Santini invites Pignon to move in with him. But when Pignon turns him down, Santini snaps, a fight ensues, and Santini is institutionalized to recover from his emotional breakdown. Eventually, Pignon's ruse is discovered when Kopel catches him making love in the office to co-worker Mme. Bertrand (Michèle Laroque). However, he has become so assertive he retains his position, relates to his son, patches up his relationship with Santini, and lives happily ever after.
This is an uplifting comedy about prejudice and how a Mr. Nobody becomes a somebody. It's light-hearted, not politically correct, old-fashioned, charming, delightful, and funny. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote: "The movie passes the time pleasantly and has a few good laughs ... But the screenplay relies too much on the first level of its premise and doesn't push into unexpected places. Once we get the setup, we can more or less anticipate the sitcom payoff, and there aren't the kinds of surprises, reversals and explosions of slapstick that made La Cage aux Folles so funny." Stephen Holden of the New York Times called it "giddy social comedy" and "a classic French farce" and added, "What's so liberating about The Closet is its refusal to walk on politically correct eggshells. The target of its blunt lusty humor is as much exaggerated political correctness and the panic it can engender as it is bigotry." Vladimir Cosma composed the music score. Francis Veber, who did La Cage aux Folles, wrote the screenplay and directed. In French with English subtitles. The English title is "The Closet".
