In the opening prologue, a narrator goes over three events of incredible coincidence:
1) Sir Edmund William Godfrey, a resident of Greenberry Hill, London, was killed by three vagrants looking to rob his pharmacy. The surnames of these men were Green, Berry, and Hill.
2) Blackjack dealer Delmer Darion went scuba diving in a lake, and was accidentally picked up by a firefighting plane in order to put out a nearby forest fire. Darion died of a heart attack inside the plane. The plane's pilot, Craig Hansen, had gotten into a fight with Darion two days prior at a casino in Reno. The guilt and measure of coincidence eventually prompted him to commit suicide.
3) 17-year-old Sydney Barringer attempted suicide by jumping off the roof of his Los Angeles apartment building. Meanwhile, his parents were arguing inside their apartment. His mother threatened his father with a shotgun, and accidentally fired at the window just as Sydney passed. There was a safety net that would have saved Sydney's life had he not been killed by the bullet. His parents hadn't known the gun was loaded; Sydney had loaded it himself a few days earlier, hoping one of them would kill the other. Sydney's mother was arrested for murder, and Sydney himself noted as an accomplice in his own death.
San Fernando Valley, present day:
Claudia Wilson Gator, a depressed and somewhat bipolar cocaine addict, meets a stranger at a bar. They have sex back at her apartment. The next morning, Claudia's father, game show host Jimmy Gator, pays a visit. He tells Claudia that he has bone cancer and that he's going to die soon. Claudia doesn't seem to care, and furiously yells him out of the house. (The man from the bar later leaves off-screen.)
That same morning, Nurse Phil Parma arrives at a large house to look after Earl Partridge, an elderly television mogul who's dying of brain and lung cancer. Earl's much younger wife Linda (who married him for his money) leaves to go see Earl's doctor. The doctor writes her a prescription for a potent morphine painkiller that can diminish Earl's pain. Meanwhile, Earl tells Phil that he has a son: sex guru Frank 'T.J.' Mackey (born Jack Partridge). Earl wants to see Frank before he dies, and Phil attempts to contact him.
Frank is currently leading an enthusiastic seminar for "Seduce and Destroy", which can enable men to get women to sleep with them. A reporter named Gwenovier arrives at the studio, as Frank is scheduled for an interview with her later.
Quiz Kid Donnie Smith, who as a child won a large amount of money on Jimmy Gator's show "What Do Kids Know?" (of which Earl Partridge happens to be a producer), now works at an electronics store. However, his bosses fire him since his sales are down. He pleads with them as he needs to pay for corrective braces (which he doesn't need; his teeth are straight), but they force Donnie to hand over his keys to the store.
Jim Kurring, a religious police officer who is divorced and currently looking for a relationship, answers a noise complaint and finds a dead body inside a woman's closet. Though he was the first on the scene, he is later ignored as his superior questions his fellow officers. Outside, he meets a young boy named Dixon, who recites a rap referencing "the Worm" and God bringing rain in. Jim dismisses this as nonsense and drives off.
Stanley Spector, a child genius and current long-running contestant on "What Do Kids Know?", is picked up from school by his avaricious father Rick and driven to the game show studio to win some more money. Stanley seems strangely reluctant.
Afternoon (it starts raining):
"What Do Kids Know?" pits a panel of three children against one of three adults through a series of trivia questions; Stanley and his two co-contestants are minor celebrities thanks to their tenure on the show (in actuality, Stanley's co-contestants barely do anything; Stanley himself is the main reason this panel has lasted so long). During preparations, Jimmy downs several shots of alcohol. The live taping begins at 3:30 PM, and Jimmy's questions are, as usual, expertly answered by Stanley. During a break, Stanley asks to go to the bathroom, but he is denied this request.
Officer Jim answers another noise complaint, this one at Claudia's apartment. After frantically hiding her cocaine, she opens the door. Jim is stunned by her attractiveness. He takes a look around the place, decides not to write her up, and, not wanting to leave, makes casual conversation with her.
Donnie enters a bar (the same one where Claudia was the previous night), where it is revealed why he wants braces: he is desperate to connect with his crush, Brad the bartender, who wears braces. Donnie starts up a conversation with patron Thurston Howell, lamenting on love, as well as the fact that his parents abandoned him after taking all of his game show money.
Linda goes to a pharmacy to pick up some medications, including Earl's morphine. The pharmacist tries making idle conversation with her, but she eventually finds his questions too personal and launches into a furious tirade before leaving with the medication.
In order to find the number of "Seduce and Destroy", Phil orders some pornographic magazines. He calls the number and tries to make his way through to Frank.
The seminar takes a break as Gwenovier interviews Frank. The interview turns hostile when she questions him about his father Earl (whom he had earlier lied was dead). She goes over the details of how Earl abandoned his first wife Lily when she became ill, and of how a young Frank had to take care of her as she lay on her deathbed, then asks him why he lied.
Late afternoon to nightfall:
Linda tells her lawyer that she wants to change Earl's will; she reveals that she has cheated on Earl many times, and only started to love him when he was diagnosed with cancer. The lawyer says she can't change the will, but she can renounce it. Linda can't do that, as the money would then go to Frank (Earl has lied to her about his relationship with Frank, blaming his son for the distance between them). Frustrated, she returns home. She attempts suicide in the garage via carbon monoxide, but stops herself to bring the morphine drop inside.
Donnie drunkenly confesses his feelings to Brad before going to the bathroom to vomit. He later returns home and gathers some spares he has had made of the keys to the store, planning to rob the money for the braces.
Stanley realizes that the people around him are using him for money and publicity, and stops answering questions, which lets the adult panel get way ahead. He wets his pants during a round, while Jimmy collapses from his deteriorating condition. Jimmy recovers, but Stanley refuses to get up for the final round and instead goes into a rant about how children are looked down upon and the like. The show is forced to end without a clear winner (though it is implied that the adults win thanks to their accumulated score). Rick is infuriated. Stanley flees the studio and breaks into his school library, hiding there and perusing books about child geniuses for the rest of the night. Jimmy returns home to his wife Rose.
Officer Jim leaves the apartment, but not before arranging a date with Claudia later that night. After he leaves, Claudia puts the cocaine back on her table and turns on the TV to watch "What Do Kids Know?", just in time to catch Stanley's rant. As the show ends, Claudia is seen crying for an unknown reason.
While driving, Jim spots a suspicious man (the Worm) and takes chase. The Worm shoots at Jim, whose gun is surreptitiously stolen by Dixon. The Worm flees, and Jim becomes a laughingstock with his fellow officers for having lost his gun. He returns home to get ready for his date.
As Phil gets in touch with Frank's assistant, a cold and indignant Frank refuses to answer any more of Gwenovier's questions. After the interview, Frank deliberates over whether to take Phil's call. Linda enters the house and violently forces Phil to hang up. Frank hangs up as well, having decided not to speak to Phil. The seminar continues, but Frank's now-troubled mindset causes him to make an error and lose his temper. Following the seminar, he changes his mind and drives to Earl's house, though he hesitates to go inside.
After a tearful apology to Phil, Linda leaves to commit suicide. She parks at another location and takes some medication with alcohol, while Earl laments to Phil about the regret that has tortured him over his son and first wife (Earl was extremely unfaithful to Lily, mirroring Linda). Phil then gives Earl the morphine.
What follows is a bizarre, somber sequence where the nine main characters sing along to Aimee Mann's "Wise Up".
Night (it stops raining):
Claudia and Jim go to a restaurant. Their night goes bad when, following a kiss, Claudia's neurotic self-hatred causes her to break down and leave without Jim.
Jimmy admits to Rose that he has cheated on her in the past. They eventually talk about Claudia, and he implies (though never openly admits) that the reason she hates him is that he molested her. Disgusted and outraged, Rose leaves the house, yelling that Jimmy deserves to die alone. Jimmy then takes out a gun and prepares to end his life.
Linda's dying body is found by Dixon, who calls 911 (but not before stealing her cash). An ambulance takes her and heads for the hospital.
Frank enters the house and speaks to Earl (who is unresponsive because of the morphine) as Phil watches solemnly. Though silently hostile at first, Frank soon breaks down into tears and begs Earl not to go away.
Donnie successfully robs the store and leaves, though one of his keys breaks off in the door. The weight of his act later hits him, and he decides to return the money. Since one of his keys is broken, he tries climbing a telephone pole to enter the store from the roof.
Jim drives by and sees Donnie climbing the phone pole. He turns around to arrest Donnie, but stops when thousands of frogs inexplicably begin raining from the sky. One frog hits Donnie, who falls and injures his teeth.
The frogs start falling as Claudia snorts some coke in her apartment. Rose arrives at the apartment and comforts her frightened daughter.
The frogs cause Linda's ambulance to tip over during the drive. Fortunately, this happens right as it arrives at the hospital.
A frog falls through Jimmy's ceiling and hits his head, causing him to accidentally shoot a TV. He falls, unconscious, as a spark from the gunshot starts a fire...
From inside the library, Stanley watches the frog storm, smiles, and calmly says, "This happens. This is something that happens. Something that happens."
As Phil gazes at the frogs, Earl wakes up, sees Frank, and struggles to say something. Before he can utter a coherent word, he dies.
The next morning:
Stanley returns home and wakes Rick, who apparently has not tried very hard to find his son. Stanley tells Rick to be nicer to him, but Rick coldly tells him to go to bed.
As Earl's body is taken away, Phil and Frank get a call from the hospital. Frank heads there to see Linda, who is recovering.
Jim gets his gun back when it suddenly falls out of the sky. After hearing his story, he decides not to arrest Donnie, and the two enter the store and put the money back, though Donnie now does need braces. Jim refers Donnie to a friend of his who can correct his teeth, and they part ways.
At Claudia's apartment, Rose goes to answer the door as Claudia sits in her bed. Jim soon enters the bedroom and speaks to Claudia, telling her that he will love and accept her for who she is. Looking forward to this new relationship, Claudia breaks the fourth wall and smiles directly at the viewer(s).
"Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours. "
Martt.-
P.s.> Very good movie indeed.
