Robert Downey Sr.

A multimillionaire whose son and daughter are gay leaves a will with one clause: His children will inherit his money only if at least one of them produces his grandchild within a year of his death.

In Los Angeles, President Ronald Reagan's motorcade arrives at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. During the President's speech, Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William L. Petersen) discovers a terrorist on the roof of the hotel, strapped with explosives. As Richard tries to talk him down, his partner, Jimmy Hart (Michael Greene), climbs the side of the building and pulls the suicide bomber off the roof, causing the terrorist to explode in the air. Sometime later, Richard jumps from a San Pedro bridge attached to a safety line then drinks beer with his colleagues and gives Jimmy a fishing rod as a retirement gift. Before Jimmy leaves, Richard insists that Jimmy include him on a stakeout the following day, but Jimmy says that he has only three days left at work and wants to go alone. Meanwhile, counterfeiter and artist, Eric "Rick" Masters (Willem Dafoe), prints thousands of $20 bills at a remote desert warehouse. When Jimmy arrives and finds evidence of Masters' counterfeiting in the dumpster, he is shot dead. Two days later, Richard and a team of agents raid the warehouse, but find only a washing machine. Outside, Richard notices a pool of blood beneath the dumpster and discovers Jimmy's body. Mourning the loss of Jimmy at his beachfront apartment, Richard is visited by a colleague from the warehouse raid, John Vukovich (John Pankow). Richard threatens to bring Masters down by any means necessary and John offers to be his new partner. A week later, at an airport stakeout, Richard and John arrest Carl Cody (John Turturro), one of Masters' operatives, after he uses counterfeit money to pay for his ticket. Visiting Cody in prison, Masters tells him that his lawyer, Bob Grimes (Dean Stockwell), will reduce his sentence, but inquires why Cody's last delivery of cash to Max Waxman (Christopher Allport) was never received. Cody denies Waxman's claim that he postponed a delivery just before he was detained at the airport, and threatens to kill Waxman when he is released. Later, Masters meets with Grimes about reducing Cody's sentence and expresses concern that Cody will expose his operation to the police if he stays in prison. Meanwhile, Richard's girlfriend, Ruth Lanier (Darlanne Fleugel), who works for him as an informant, tells him about Waxman. Backstage at a club, Masters tells his dancer girlfriend, Bianca Torres (Debra Feuer), that Waxman has double-crossed them and she offers to help. As Richard and John keep surveillance on Waxman's office, they observe Bianca make a delivery. Inside, Bianca acquiesces to Waxman's seduction, but leaves the door open for Masters, who interrupts their escapade and forces Waxman to open the safe and return his cash. After a brief struggle, Masters shoots Waxman dead. Although Richard and Jimmy sleep through the murder, they enter Waxman's office with the police and Richard finds a code book with dates, dollar amounts and the initials "R. M." Despite Jimmy's warning that he is tampering with police evidence, Richard keeps the journal. Later, after Richard and Ruth have sex, she asks to receive payment for leading him to Waxman. When he tells her that she won't get paid without an arrest, she predicts that her job as an informant will end her life. Before Richard leaves, Ruth reports that a Chinese man will soon be arriving from San Francisco to purchase $50,000 in stolen diamonds. Richard claims that he is only interested in counterfeit money and threatens to revoke her parole if she stops providing him with information about the Masters case. While John follows a lead to Masters' studio, Masters meets with local dealer, Jeff Rice (Steve James), at a basketball court and agrees to pay him $75,000 to have Cody killed in prison. When the hit fails, Richard interrogates Cody, but Cody refuses to betray Masters. Meanwhile, Masters puts a gun in Rice's mouth, demands his money back and burns the cash. After convincing Judge Filo Cedillo (Val DeVargas) to release Cody so he can assist with the bust, Richard forces Cody to guide him to Masters's print shop, but on the way, Cody asks to see his sick daughter in the hospital. As Richard removes Cody's handcuffs before they enter the hospital room, Cody attacks Richard and escapes. Meanwhile, John meets with Grimes at a bar. Grimes complains about having Masters as a client and agrees to set him up at a meeting with the agents. Richard and John pose as moneylenders from a bank in the Cayman Islands and meet Masters at a gym, asking for a million dollars in counterfeit bills. When Richard explains that they have a client who wants to launder bonds to avoid taxes, Masters demands $30,000 in cash upfront. Unable to produce decoy money from their department for the bust, Richard proposes to John that they covertly intercept the diamond deal Ruth told him about and seize $50,000, but John refuses. Richard blackmails Ruth with prison time to help him with the heist, but when Richard captures Thomas Ling at Union Station, John picks them up in the getaway car. Followed from the station by two men, Richard and John hold Ling at gunpoint. They discover a phone book in his briefcase and cash in a concealed money belt when shots are fired from above, killing Ling. After losing their stalkers in a car chase, Richard and John realize they are being pursued by a large team of cars and armed accomplices. John drives up a freeway off ramp and swerves through oncoming traffic to escape. Later, at an office briefing, Richard and John learn that Ling was an undercover FBI agent. While Richard delivers the cash to Masters, John consults with Grimes about his legal options and learns his only defense is to plead guilty and turn in Richard. Grimes agrees to represent John for $50,000, but John refuses to betray his partner. Meanwhile, Richard collects Cody from his girlfriend's apartment. Later, Richard and John meet Masters at the gym to complete the deal, but as they make the arrest, Master's bodyguard shoots Richard in the forehead and Richard returns fire. Leaving his dead partner behind, John returns to Masters's studio and discovers that Masters set fire to the warehouse. Sitting cross-legged among the flames, Masters asks John why he did not accept Grimes's deal. Masters beats John, covers him with shredded counterfeit bills and attempts to set him on fire, but John shoots him and Masters becomes engulfed in the flames of his own torch. Some time later, John visits Ruth to collect the remaining $20,000 from their heist. Accusing her of knowing that Ling was an FBI agent and setting them up, John tells Ruth that she is now working for him.

A homeless man (Brian O'Mullin) performs a spontaneous song and dance routine for Chuck Barris, host and star of the television talent contest "The Gong Show," who is stopping at local Winchell's Donuts on his way to work. Barris dismisses the man's showmanship and spills coffee on his own shirt. At the television studio, Barris ignores an elderly violin player (Jack Bernardi), the singing group Satisfaction, a trumpet-playing comedian (Harvey Alpert), and dozens of other acts that accost him. When Barris arrives at his office, Buddy Didlo (James B. Douglas), network vice president of programs, says that the show's ratings have dropped slightly, making Barris ineligible for a raise. However, Barris carries on, auditioning 68 acts, which include strippers, folk singers, comedians, body-part playing musicians, street poets and human spiders. Later in the steam room, Barris' friend, Bernie (Harvey Lembeck), says that Barris looks tired and should pay more attention to his health. The next day, Barris tapes five "Gong Show" episodes. One act, Melvin Presar, a chicken-clucking singer, has a heart attack after being called on stage for several encores. At the hospital, Barris tells his girlfriend, Red (Robin Altman), that he feels guilty about making Melvin sick. However, Melvin is so happy to see Barris, he pulls off his oxygen mask and auditions his new act as a budding gingko tree. Barris leaves before Melvin finishes, but Dr. Jerry Queasley (David Sheiner), Melvin's doctor, auditions his "singing chef" act, which ends with Barris drenched in a bowlful of batter. As Barris and Red leave the hospital, Melvin performs until he is dragged back to his room. Red warns Barris to quit the show while he still has his sanity. She suggests he hire a substitute host, but Barris tells her the job beats working in a bank. To unwind, Barris plays guitar and sings with a group of friends called The Hollywood Cowboys. One night, the disgruntled sons of a failed contestant with plans for revenge approach Barris as he returns home. He persuades them to create an act instead of killing him. They later appear on the show and are eliminated by the same judge, who gonged their mother. Later, Didlo announces that ratings have improved, but too many television stations are canceling the show because of its offensive content. At a meeting at Matteo's restaurant to discuss the situation, Barris and Red are seated at a special table in the kitchen, as a cook auditions his singing act. When Didlo arrives, he complains that "The Gong Show" has turned into "The Goon Show." As Barris leaves for the men's room, Didlo follows, citing Barris' various offenses. Barris promises to behave, but then he pees on a man in the adjacent urinal after he is recognized. The next morning, Red fixes Barris breakfast in bed. However, Didlo barges in and insists that Barris sign a statement, agreeing to produce a tasteful show. Afterward, Barris meets with "Gong Show" judge, Jaye P. Morgan, who pledges to put an end to her double entendres. When Barris arrives late to work, multiple acts are waiting to audition and his secretary, Mabel, is worried that he looks tired. Nevertheless, Barris sits through auditions, reminding contestants to stay upbeat even if they are "gonged." Later, Red worries that Barris is on the verge of a nervous breakdown and sends him to a psychiatrist, Dr. Betsy Nolan (Cloyce Morrow), but the doctor determines that Barris is only suffering from exhaustion. He admits he is tired of the show and being known as a buffoon. He wants to do something meaningful. Dr. Betsy urges him to take time off and Red agrees. However, Barris cannot bring himself to stop, and suggests that he and Red end their relationship instead. As she walks out, he stares at photographs on the wall, documenting their love. Barris phones Mabel to announce that he is taking a hiatus and does not know when he will return. The next day, after buying a one-way ticket to Morocco, Barris walks aimlessly through the Moroccan desert until a helicopter appears and lands. A cloaked figure disembarks from the helicopter and approaches. It is Didlo with good news: the affiliate stations want Barris back, and so does Red. The whole entourage of the Gong Show appears to sing Barris "Don't Get Up". In the final scene, Barris returns to "The Gong Show" and receives a standing ovation. The audience is treated to acts like The Vatican Four, The Siamese Connection, Count Banjola, the Unknown Comic doing his impression of an Eskimo urinating, and the show goes on.