Elaine May

After dying before his time, an aspiring black comic gets a second shot at life - by being placed in the body of a wealthy white businessman. It seems everyone is trying to get into heaven; at least those whose time is up. For Lance Barton (Chris Rock), a struggling comedian and bicycle messenger, it's the last thing on his mind. His due date in heaven is fifty years away. In the meantime, he has big dreams to pursue on Earth, such as landing a slot at the final Amateur Night Contest at the famed Apollo Theatre. Lance's has one little problem though - he isn't that funny. Thanks to an overly cautious emissary from heaven, Mr. Keyes (Eugene Levy), he's going to get hit (literally) with a much bigger problem. Showing that even God has difficulty finding good help these days, the inept minion mistakenly plucks Lance from a traffic accident - before it takes place. Transporting him to the Pearly Gates, or more accurately, the velvet roped-lines of the hottest club around, the error is finally addressed by Mr. King (Chazz Palminteri), the streetwise, no-nonsense head angel who manages the place from his plush windowed office. Since returning to his own body on Earth is impossible, the urban dwelling Lance reluctantly agrees to a normally unthinkable proposal. He'll occupy the body of a wealthy old white mogul, Charles Wellington III (Brian Rhodes), until a more suitable body can be found. Strangely enough, in a Park Avenue penthouse, servants and butlers become his new homeys as Lance works on his streetwise comedy routine for the big Apollo showdown. Living in the body of a callous old white man would be bizarre enough for Lance without falling in love with Sontee Jenkins (Regina King), the beautiful woman publicly battling Wellington's company at the same time. And if that wasn't enough, he has to deal with the love affair between Wellington's wife and his personal assistant, and their plot to have him killed. —Gilbert lee

In New York City, two singer/songwriters, Chuck Clarke (Dustin Hoffman) and Lyle Rogers (Warren Beatty), stare at the window of a Sam Goody record store. Chuck insists the only difference between them and hit makers like Simon and Garfunkel or Bruce Springsteen is that they do not have an essential ingredient: an agent. Soon, Chuck invites talent agent, Marty Freed (Jack Weston), to watch them perform their material at the store Song Mart. Afterward, Marty informs the duo that they have no stage talent. They need patter, "shtick," and gimmicks. For their next tryout, Chuck and Lyle (playing as their duo act called 'Rogers and Clarke') cover a familiar song with awkward choreography at a local nightclub. Despite audience booing, Marty offers them two bookings, one in Honduras at a hotel frequented by American journalists, and another longer engagement in Morocco. Chuck and Lyle mull Marty's offer at a nearby bar. In a series of flashbacks to five months earlier, Lyle was working by driving an ice cream truck, writing song lyrics as he worked. He played new songs for his speechless wife, Willa (Tess Harper). At a restaurant, Chuck played piano for customers. Afterward, as Chuck and his girl friend, Carol (Carol Kane), chatted, a waiter delivered a note from Lyle saying how much he enjoyed Chuck's performance. The songwriters met and had instant rapport, furiously collaborating on songs. They spent so much time composing that Willa left Lyle due to neglect. He sank into a depression, then Chuck helped him recover. Soon, Carol also felt neglected and ended her relationship with Chuck. He called Lyle and threatened suicide. Lyle promised to come to Chuck's aid, but his friend asked him not to alert the police because it would ruin his show business career. However, Lyle called the police, and Chuck climbed onto the ledge of his building when an officer appeared at his apartment. As Lyle joined Chuck on the ledge, Rabbi Pierce appeared to calm Chuck. Lyle grabbed Chuck's hand, and guided him back into his apartment. At the bar in the present day, Chuck remembers all that he and Lyle went through and decides they should take their act to Morocco. In Ishtar, Morocco, as a desert archaeological camp is attacked, Professor Barnes orders his associate, Omar (J.C. Cutler), to escape with an important, newly discovered ancient map that could provoke war in the Middle East. Omar barely has time to give his sister, a left-wing French-Moroccan agent named Shirra Assel (Isabelle Ajani), the map before he is killed. His last words promise that no one will find the map except "two messengers of God." At the Ishtar airport, Shirra Assel, disguised as a man, approaches and persuades Chuck to exchange passports and suitcases with her so she might travel to Marrakesh. She quotes: "It is a matter of life and death." She convinces him that he can visit the American Embassy and have his passport easily replaced. When the duo learns that a new passport will take days to process, Chuck convinces Lyle to travel to nearby Marrakesh and do the show alone, while he checks into a hotel in Ishtar. At the Marakesh Hotel, another American, named Jim Harrison (Charles Grodin), invites Lyle to dinner. After Chuck chats about show business, Jim reveals he works for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is in Morocco to prevent the Communists from staging a coup to overthrow the royal Moroccan government. Jim hints that his agency likes to recruit people like Chuck as operatives. At his solo show, Lyle launches into a rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and is soon drowned out by an apathetic crowd. Suddenly, Chuck appears and belts out "That's Amore," and show tunes that revive the audience. The new act of Rogers and Clarke, are a hit and are applauded. Later, Chuck says he is going for a drive to get some air. Later that night, Shirra wakes Lyle in his hotel room as she tries to reclaim her suitcase. As Lyle tackles her, she claims Chuck is a CIA agent, and the contents of the suitcase are necessary to overthrow the tyrant running her country. Lyle is skeptical about her story, but she convinces him to help her find a camel seller named Mohammed, and buy a blind camel. She leaves carrying the heavy suitcase. Meanwhile, Chuck secretly meets Jim Harrison, and learns his movements have been tracked through a pen with a hidden microphone that Jim gave him as a gift. The CIA has reason to believe that dictator Muammar Gaddafi in Libya is interested in Shirra's map, and the CIA wants to take possession of the document before Gaddafi does. Chuck claims not to know where Shirra is. However, Jim Harrison believes Lyle knows where to find her after appearing to have a sexual encounter with her at the hotel, and being recruited by her as a left-wing terrorist. Chuck does not believe any of Harrison's assertions but Harrison gives Chuck a beeper to stay in contact. In the morning, Lyle sneaks out of the hotel room, and Chuck follows him. The friends meet and CIA agents follow them to an outdoor market. Chuck and Lyle are kidnapped, but Harrison's associates shoot the captors and panic breaks out. The two friends run, and ask an enterprising local to help them hide. The youth takes them into his uncle's rug shop. The kidnappers confiscate two rolled up rugs, thinking the songwriters are hidden inside. Dressed in Moroccan garments, Chuck and Lyle escape over the rooftops. Meanwhile, Harrison visits Emir Yousef (Aharon Ipalé) at his palace in Ishtar to explain that the Americans, Chuck and Lyle, are merely pawns. The Emir insists the songwriters will be mistaken for "messengers of God." If radical Shiites gain possession of the map they will use it as a sign to overthrow the Emir. The Americans must be killed to demonstrate that God does not favor those who oppose the Emir. As Lyle negotiates for a blind camel at the Ben Sheli Camel Market, Chuck confronts Shirra in a nearby hotel room. He accuses her of recruiting Lyle as a Communist but she denies it. She thinks he stole her map and gave it to Jim Harrison. He denies it but promises to keep her secret. When Chuck finds Lyle, he has bought a blind camel with poor teeth. As Lyle leaves to change his disguise, Harrison appears and warns Chuck that the Emir's men want to kill them. Harrison hands Chuck two canteens with water, and a compass with escape instructions. When they reach a safe hotel at a desert oasis, CIA agents are supposed to rescue them, but it is a ruse. Harrison hopes that the desert trek will result in their deaths. Meanwhile, Shirra's associates convince her the songwriters must be executed. Shirra gives Lyle a beaded necklace with instructions to drop a trail of beads, heading into the desert. At night, the beads will glow and the friends can find their way back to town. The next morning in the desert, Chuck collapses from heat exhaustion. As Lyle helps his friend, vultures appear. Elsewhere, an associate of Shirra's tells Prof. Barnes they plan to announce over radio that they are in possession of the ancient map. The songwriters survive a sandstorm and think they see Moroccans with a truck. Chuck instructs Lyle, dressed in flowing robes, to get water. The Moroccans are actually Australian gunrunners who mistake Chuck for an auctioneer. As Chuck pretends to auction guns to the locals, CIA agents see that the songwriters have stopped moving through the desert and send a helicopter to retrieve their bodies. When the helicopter pilot realizes they are alive he retreats, and the auction is cut short. At his palace, the Emir tells Harrison he wants the "the messengers of God" killed and the helicopter returns to the desert. Parched and exhausted, Chuck and Lyle think of song lyrics to keep alert, and soon discover Shirra's map sewn into the lining of Chuck's jacket. Just then the helicopter appears and when the pilot shoots at the songwriters, they return fire with guns they collected from the auction. The helicopter leaves but returns with a second Apache attack helicopter. However, Shirra appears in a truck. She arms Chuck and Lyle with powerful guns, and the two helicopters are forced to abort their mission. Chuck and Lyle manage to smuggle the map into the United States. Back in New York, Marty, the talent agent, negotiates with Harrison to implement social reforms in Morocco, get rid of the Emir, and back and promote an album and worldwide tour for Chuck and Lyle. If the CIA succeeds, the songwriters promise not to sell the map to the KGB or anyone else. As a show of support, Harrison arranges for American forces and CIA agents to attend Chuck and Lyle's show at Chez Casablanca. Shirra thinks their songs are wonderful. In the final scene, back in America, Chuck and Lyle's "Live in Concert" album can be seen in the window of Sam Goody records.

On a flight to Los Angeles, California, British actress Diana Barrie (Maggie Smith) watches herself on the in-flight movie in the role for which she has received an Academy Award nomination. She expresses her nervousness about the upcoming Oscar ceremony to her husband, Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine), as the plane lands. Elsewhere, on a Los Angeles freeway, Dr. Willis Panama (Bill Cosby) and Dr. Chauncey Gump (Richard Pryor), physicians from Chicago, Illinois, vacationing together with their wives Bettina (Sheila Frazer) and Lola (Gloria Gifford), bicker with each other constantly as their rental car first breaks down, then collides with two other vehicles. As Diana and Sidney check into the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hannah Warren (Jane Fonda) paces her room in the hotel while waiting to meet with her ex-husband, Bill Warren (Alan Alda). When he arrives, they note that it has been nine years since they saw each other, then they leave to keep the lunch reservation he made. At the Los Angeles airport, Harry Michaels (Herbert Edelman) picks up his brother, Marvin Michaels (Walter Matthau), who has come to town to attend Harry's son's bar mitzvah. Marvin explains that he and his wife Millie (Elaine May) always fly separately, so she will arrive the next morning. Marvin notices that Harry still ogles and wants to proposition every beautiful woman he sees. Harry drops Marvin off at the Beverly Hills Hotel and they arrange to meet for dinner later. Meanwhile, Hannah and Bill reminisce over lunch and later at his beachfront home. She is an editor for Newsweek magazine in New York City and dating a writer for the Washington Post. He is a former journalist, now working as a screenwriter, and contemplating marrying his girlfriend. Then they discuss the real reason Hannah has flown to Los Angeles: their seventeen-year old daughter, Jenny (Dana Plato), unhappy living with her mother in New York, ran away to stay with her father and wants to spend the next year with him in Los Angeles. Hannah doesn't want her daughter living in southern California but she is nervous about seeing Jenny and getting her to return to New York. Back at the hotel, Diana continues fretting over the likelihood of winning the Academy Award and exchanges witty banter with Sidney. Later, she has a couple of drinks to calm her nerves as she gets dressed for the awards ceremony. As Hannah and Bill return to Hannah's hotel room, Jenny calls and informs her parents that she will abide by whatever decision they make. Hannah announces to Bill that Jenny will return to New York with her. Bill is disappointed but trusts Hannah's instincts. When Hannah expresses how afraid she is of losing Jenny, Bill remarks that he has never seen his ex-wife so vulnerable. Then Hannah says Jenny can stay with Bill in Los Angeles, but only for six months. Hannah watches Jenny drive off with Bill. At the hotel's front desk, the doctors learn there is a reservation for Willis but not for Chauncey. The hotel has no extra rooms because it is Academy Award week. The only thing available is a small single room undergoing repairs. Chauncey agrees to take it. Later, Willis tells Chauncey that he has made a dinner reservation at a Japanese restaurant and booked them a tennis court for a doubles game the next day. While the Gumps struggle to get ready in their tiny room, Chauncey complains about having to eat Japanese food. As Willis and Bettina wait for their friends in the lobby, Willis complains that Chauncey is always late. When the two couples finally gather at the hotel's front door, the doctors argue about who will drive to the restaurant, until Bettina insists she will drive. On the way to the Academy Awards, a nervous Diana begs Sidney to be nice to her and wish her luck. He reminds her how talented she is and gives her a kiss. They exit the limousine and greet the crowd outside the venue. Elsewhere, paramedics arrive at a collision in which a car is on top of the one Bettina is driving. While a policeman questions her, Chauncey insists to the officer that his legs are paralyzed from sitting down at the Japanese restaurant. After the Academy Awards ceremony, Diana observes Sidney speaking with an attractive young man. Drunk, she takes her disappointment about losing the Oscar out on her husband. At the hotel, as Harry drops his brother off after dinner, Harry teases Marvin that "the night is not over yet." Marvin goes to his room and finds that Harry has hired a hooker, Bunny, to entertain him. Later, Chauncey wakes up in the middle of the night, sick from the Japanese food. Lola calls Willis and insists he tend to Chauncey. Willis angrily acquiesces. Back in their hotel room, Diana jealously insists that Sidney was flirting with the young man that she saw him speaking with earlier. Sidney asks her why they cannot lie to each other about the nature of their relationship the same way they lie to everyone else about it. He reminds her that he has never hidden who he is... that he is homosexual. Diana asks why Sidney doesn't love her anymore. He insists he never stopped loving her. She says his kind of love doesn't do her any good, then begs him to "screw" her before immediately apologizing. She loves him but she doesn't understand why he stays with her when he could share the company of other gay men exclusively. He explains he enjoys his proximity to her minor celebrity and tells her he loves her more than any woman he's ever known. They acknowledge they have fun together, then share a kiss. She comes to bed and they make love. The next morning, Marvin wakes up to find himself in bed with Bunny. He tries to get her up and out of the room but she has passed out after drinking a bottle of tequila. Calling the front desk, Marvin learns that his wife, Millie, has just arrived and is on her way to his room. He tries to keep Millie from discovering the nude, unconscious hooker in his bed but finally reveals his indiscretion. Incensed, Millie leaves. Elsewhere at the hotel, Willis, Bettina, Chauncey and Lola play doubles tennis. Bettina accidentally smashes her racket on Willis' head, loses her balance and injures her ankle as she falls. Lola stumbles over a basket of tennis balls trying to come to Bettina's aid and Chauncey trips over the net trying to help Lola. Outside the Michaels' room, Millie hurries away as Marvin tries to explain his infidelity. At first, Millie doesn't see how she can attend the bar mitzvah knowing Harry paid for Marvin's hooker, then she decides to forgive Marvin and forget it ever happened. She also plans to spend all of his money. The Panamas and the Gumps return to the Panamas' room to care for Bettina's ankle. Lola breaks a bottle of perfume in the bathroom, then cuts her finger on one of the glass shards. While they tend to Lola, Bettina trips and falls through the room's French doors, breaking the panes of glass. Then Lola bangs her head on the door of the medicine cabinet while rinsing off her bleeding finger and passes out. Willis goes to the bathroom to soak a wet towel for her, but steps on the broken glass. Willis and Chauncey put both women on the bed then start fighting each other, damaging the room in the process. After shopping in the hotel boutique, Millie returns to the hotel room. Marvin tries to embrace her but she wants no signs of affection from him in front of the still-unconscious hooker on their bed. In the Panamas' room, Chauncey swears it has been the worst trip ever and Willis tries to force Chauncey to say it is the best time they ever had and that the Gumps will love going on vacation with the Panamas again. In front of the hotel, the taxi that the Michaels were going to take to the bar mitzvah has been given to Bunny, who is awake and fully dressed. She generously allows them to ride with her to their destination. At the airport, Hannah is surprised to see Jenny, who has come to say good-bye and thank her mother for letting her stay with Bill. In another part of the airport, the Panamas and the Gumps, who are bruised and covered in bandages, limp towards their flight. As Diana and Sidney's plane takes off, they learn that the in-flight movie is the same as on their flight to Los Angeles and Diana begs Sidney to get them off the plane.

Following a knee injury, Joe Pendleton, a Los Angeles Rams second-string quarterback, practices with the team as the managers and coach comment repeatedly on his good form. Away from the football field, he focuses on fitness and relaxes by playing the saxophone. On Joes birthday, Max Corkle, a Rams trainer and Joes good friend, drops by his home with a cake and informs him that the coach wants Joe to start the game against the Dallas Cowboys instead of Tom Jarrett. Joe steps up his training, but while bicycling through a tunnel he is hit by a van. With saxophone in hand, Joe arrives at a way station to Heaven accompanied by The Escort, a celestial assistant who instructs Joe to board an aircraft for his final destination. Joe refuses, believing it is only a dream. Delicately, the archangel man in charge, Mr. Jordan, explains that this place represents the afterlife, but Joe is convinced that his death is a mistake. After verifying Joes status, a clerk announces that Joe isnt due to arrive until the year 2025, and The Escort, a rookie, admits that he pulled him away before the outcome of the collision. Since Joes body has already been cremated, Mr. Jordan says that in order for him to return to life, Joe must occupy the body of another man, as long as that mans death has not yet been discovered. Mr. Jordan and Joe proceed to scout for possible candidates. At the estate of Leo Farnsworth, a millionaire industrialist, they observe the scheming of his wife Julia Farnsworth and Tony Abbott, Farnsworths assistant. Julia and Abbott are having an affair, and they have left Farnsworth to drown in the bathtub after drugging him. Meanwhile, Betty Logan, a schoolteacher, arrives at the mansion to insist on meeting with Farnsworth about his refinery that will force the eviction of families in her hometown of Pagglesham, England. Joe is immediately smitten with Betty and wants to help her. Until they find a more athletic candidate, Mr. Jordan agrees to let Joe inhabit the body of Farnsworth temporarily. In the upstairs bathroom, Joe assumes his new identity, but only sees himself in the mirror. Mr. Jordan assures him that even though Joe can only see himself as the internal person of Joe Pendleton, others will see and hear him as Leo Farnsworth. Dressed in polo attire, Joe listens while Betty objects to the plans of Farnsworths Exo-Grey Industries. Upon seeing her husband alive, Julia screams hysterically, and Abbott quickly drags her away. Betty is confused by Joes lack of concern for his wifes outburst, and is also annoyed when Joe claims that he is not really Leo Farnsworth. Believing that he is taunting her, Betty angrily walks away, but warns him that she will be at the next company board meeting. While Joe studies Farnsworths business, Julia and Abbott wait nervously, unsure if he is plotting revenge for the murder. On the way to the board meeting, Joe invites reporters and Betty to join him. Everyone in the room is dumbfounded when Joe passionately compares Exo-Greys winning position to that of a football team that must protect its lead and do the right thing by not exploiting others. That evening, after Betty visits Farnsworth to compliment him on his courage in front of the board, Joe takes her out to dinner at a drivein restaurant. Inside the limousine, Joe confides that he cannot stop staring at her, and Betty admits that she sees something special in his eyes. As they are saying goodbye, Joe declares his plan to divorce Julia. With a new motivation, Joe tells The Escort that he wants to remain in Farnsworths body and get it into shape for football. That evening, despite rigging a heavy fixture above his bed, Julia and Abbott once again fail to murder Farnsworth. The following day, Max arrives at the estate and listens with skepticism while Joe explains that he wants to try out for the Rams quarterback and pay Max to be his trainer. Max is reluctant to jeopardize his reputation with the Rams by entertaining the whims of a millionaire. After initially seeming like at lunatic, Joe is finally able to persuade Max that he is really Joe Pendleton by playing the saxophone badly, as only Joe could. The estate immediately becomes a football training camp. After working out with the butlers of the mansion, Joe takes the next step by purchasing the Los Angeles Rams. During a locker room meeting, the players grumble when told that the new owner Farnsworth will be the quarterback in a scrimmage game and instructed to not hold back with him. At first, Joe receives no help from his offensive line and is repeatedly sacked. But, after requesting one chance to complete a play, he makes a successful pass and continues to display his skills for the rest of the practice, earning the respect of the players and defying the doubters on the sideline. Sometime later at the estate, Joe and Betty attend a gathering of The Ecology Club on the garden lawn. Watching from her bedroom window with Abbott, Julia still thinks that Farnsworth is plotting against them, and contemplates another murder. After strolling together on the property, Joe asks Betty to marry him. Just as Betty responds with excitement, The Escort interrupts Joe with the news that he must abandon Farnsworths body. Unsure what will happen to him, Joe asks Betty to remember what she saw in his eyes. Before she leaves, he embraces her and says, Theres nothing to be afraid of. Mr. Jordan visits to reiterate that he cannot change what is meant to be and that Joe must leave Farnsworths body, but Joe refuses, intent on playing in the Super Bowl and being with Betty. At that moment, Abbott shoots Joe from the bedroom window, and Joe tumbles into a well. No longer in Farnsworths body, Joe emerges from the well with his saxophone and has no choice but to follow Mr. Jordan back to Heaven. Farnsworths disappearance becomes front-page news, and Krim, the police detective in charge, gathers together the staff along with Max, Betty, Julia, and Abbott for questioning at the estate. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl between the Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers is underway at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and Max is anxious to be there, so Krim lets him watch the game on television during the proceedings. Concerned for Betty, Joe is present in the room alongside Mr. Jordan. When the Rams quarterback, Tom Jarrett, is seriously hurt and taken off the field on a stretcher, Mr. Jordan transports Joe to the game. Mr. Jordan explains that it is Toms destiny to die at this time. Joe moves toward Toms body and occupies it, springing off the stretcher and onto the field. Watching this sudden recovery on television, Max realizes that it must be Joe. At the same time, the gardener runs into the room with Farnsworths jacket that he found in the well, which prompts Julia to scream that Abbott is the murderer, and he in turn points the finger at her. In overtime, Joe leads the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. During the celebration in the locker room, Mr. Jordan appears before Joe declares that Joe now has a permanent body in Tom Jarrett and he will no longer remember Joe Pendleton, or any of the events that happened, but he will now live out the rest of his life as Tom Jarrett with all of Tom's memories, while Joe's memories of his past life and all about Mr. Jordan and Heaven will be forgotten forever. Later that evening, Joe doesnt recognize the saxophone, and thinks Max has drunk too much champagne when he calls him Joe. Max finally realizes that Joe as he knows him no longer exists. As Joe/Tom exits through a stadium hallway, Betty enters looking for Max. After giving her directions, Joe/Tom wonders if they have met before. Betty says she doesnt know him, but she has a connection to football through her close friend, Leo Farnsworth. When the lights of the hallway are switched off, Joe/Tom assures Betty that theres nothing to be afraid of and guides her out the door. Betty is touched by what he said, recalling her last conversation with Farnsworth. Joe/Tom asks her out for coffee, and when Betty realizes that he is the quarterback, she says yes at once.

When Henry Graham's lawyer informs him that his playboy lifestyle has consumed all of his funds, he must avoid sliding down the social ladder. He plans to marry wealthy scientist Henrietta Lowell--and kill her. Henry Graham has a problem: he has spent his entire inheritance, and is completely broke. With no skills, the only option is to make money the old-fashioned way: marry in to it. With a temporary loan to tide him over, Henry has only 6 weeks to find a bride, marry her, and repay the money, or else he must forfeit all his possessions. —Drew from Baltimore This dark comedy stars writer/director Elaine May in one of the 1970s' best but least-known films. Wealthy Henry Graham, whose only interest is being wealthy, is bankrupt. In a deal with his uncle, he borrows $50,000, which he must repay within 6 weeks' time or forfeit everything. His plan is to marry a rich heiress with no family..... but he meets the most helpless, discombobulated person imaginable. —Huggo Examines the vapid life of a born-to-wealth New Yorker. After he spends all of what was left to him, his questing after more (without bothersome labor) changes him. The main agent of change is a phenomenally passive and unassuming lady known as Henrietta Lowell. —The_Kid in Bellevue Playboy Henry Graham squanders his wealth and must seek a new source to maintain his idle rich lifestyle. The easy alternative to work is to find a rich woman, marry her, and murder her. Klutzy, nerdy Henrietta Lowell is the ideal candidate. But in dealing with his klutzy, nerdy, trusting new botanist wife and her ill-managed estate, Henry unwittingly begins to assume some sense of responsibility, not realizing this while planning to do away with Henrietta on one droll camping trip. —NYK

While awaiting the outcome of her husband's surgery, Julie Messinger discovers he has been having affairs. Julie Messinger has it made. She is a New York housewife whose husband, Richard, is an editor for a prominent photography magazine. They have a small circle of friends, including well-meaning, but inept Dr. Timothy Spector, photographer Cal Whiting and Cal's live-in girlfriend Miranda. Julie's mother spends her days getting pedicures and manicures, applying make-up and fake eye-lashes and buying expensive clothes, all the while criticizing her daughter for her looks and behavior. When Richard goes into the hospital for a minor mole-removal surgery, Julie gets more than she bargained for. Richard suffers from complications and goes into a coma, supposedly caused by a rare surgical factor, and she gathers friends and family together, culminating in a hilarious "quasi-cocktail-party" scene in the blood donation center of the hospital. While dealing with red tape, hospital bureaucracy and clueless doctors, Julie discovers her husband's "little black book," which contains the names of her friends. She confirms that her husband had been sleeping around and proceeds to make a fool out of him by getting it on with his male friends. When the complications get more ominous, guilt opens the door to her liberation as a woman. A scathingly funny examination of the dirty rich partying while one of their number lies on the brink of death. —thustlebird