Synopsis:
When Michael (JOE MANTEGNA) bought his wife Dana (CHRISTINE LAHTI) a new Cadillac, he thought she'd be pleased.
He was wrong…
When Dana stormed out of the house after seeing the car,...
When Michael (JOE MANTEGNA) bought his wife Dana (CHRISTINE LAHTI) a new Cadillac, he thought she'd be pleased.
He was wrong…
When Dana stormed out of the house after seeing the car, Michael was a bit confused and hurt, but he thought she'd be back and they'd work things out.
He was wrong again…very wrong.
When his best friend Bruce (PAUL REISER) went over to comfort Michael, and suggested they go for a quick trip to their favorite strip bar, Michael reluctantly agreed, thinking it might relax him. When Dana was on her way home, she saw Michael and Bruce leave, so she followed them into the strip club, and unbeknownst to them, watched as they received very intimate lap dances from topless women. Now Michael is pretty sure this is the worst situation he's faced in his 20 years of marriage.
He is right…
Of course, when Dana calls Bruce's wife Brita (GLENNE HEADLY) and tells her of their husbands' activities, she is none too pleased and goes to comfort her friend.
As Michael returns home with Bruce, they enter the house and Bruce trips over a piece of luggage. He starts to offer his condolences to Michael when he finds out it's his luggage. The two men enter the room to face their wives, who announce they are throwing their husbands out. As the two men try to bluff their way out of trouble, it becomes painstakingly clear that Dana and Brita know exactly where they've been.
The lines are drawn. Michael accuses Dana of walking out on him for no good reason, and Dana counters that Michael has cheated on her. Brita needs Bruce to understand why she's so hurt, and Bruce can't seem to grasp the concept.
While Dana and Michael argue as to whether he's leaving, Bruce decides it's time for a tactical retreat and drags his friend outside to the car. The boys return and Michael claims illness. Michael's "condition" seems serious, and when Dana begins to soften, they are interrupted by the arrival of their neighbor Shelly (JENNIFER COOLIDGE). A divorcee in her 40's who has a tendency to drink too much, Shelly finds her dating pool rather limited, although she is constantly looking to widen that circle. Dana realizes that Michael picked up perfume from his female acquaintance at the strip club, and her anger and resentment return. Michael and Bruce take to the streets again.
Unsuccessful in their search for a self-help book, Michael and Bruce head over to visit Nick (ROBERT PASTORELLI), who after going to a couples retreat with his wife, felt the need to confess a few minor infidelities in the hopes it would strengthen their marriage. He currently lives alone, over a tattoo parlor and biker bar.
That little setback hasn't kept Nick from pursuing what he feels is his new mission in life. After participating in a Native American sweat ritual, Nick is convinced he must give as much of himself to the Earth as he can. Translated into Nick-speak, that means sleeping with as many women as possible. In the course of 10 months, he boasts to Michael and Bruce that he has been with 128 women. What he doesn't tell Bruce is that he tried to make his wife Brita number 129. Rebuffed by Bruce's wife, Nick settled for their friend Shelly.
As Michael and Bruce drive away, a Corvette suddenly passes them going over a hundred miles an hour. Their brief glimpse proves the driver to be Nick, and the men assume he's on his way to woman number 130.
In Nick's mind, he is. And that woman is Dana. When he shows up at her doorstep, she is taken aback, but not all that surprised. Though wary of him, she lets him in, and he begins to use his newfound Native American charms on her and Brita. Intrigued, and still angry at their husbands' indiscretions, they decide to have Nick strip and dance for them.
Before he can finish his performance, Michael and Bruce burst into the room, confronting their "friend." When Michael tires of Nick's explanations, he takes out a gun (one he pocketed at Nick's apartment) and drives the man out of his home, with Shelly following close after.
This new development gives Bruce hope that he and Michael might have gotten through the crisis. After all, now Dana and Brita have gotten their dance, so they're all even. Or so he thinks until Brita tells him of Nick's earlier advances towards her. Bruce is livid, and runs after Nick to exact his revenge. He finds him close by, luxuriating in a bath with Shelly. Nick tries to reason with Bruce, explaining that what he attempted to do is nothing that Bruce hadn't thought about with Nick's wife. The reasoning ends with Bruce's fist against Nick's jaw.
Upon his return to Michael's house, the time has come for the couples to truly talk to each other. No more accusations, no more anger. Now is the time for a true exploration of what each of their lives has become over the years; how they're feeling about each other; the ebb and flow of romance and passion; the examination of how the passage of time has molded and finally affected their marriages. They will decide what is acceptable, what cannot be tolerated anymore, what they can live with, what they want to live with and, ultimately, whether they can or want to continue their marriages. -- © 2002 Showtime Networks
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