After Beth (Amanda Wyss), the girl of his dreams, dumps him for the school's arrogant ski-team captain, Lane's (John Cusack) prolific and dark imagination runs overtime. He wavers between bungling attempts to kill himself and inept efforts to win his ex-girlfriend back. All the while, Lane's also dealing with his quirky family, dodging a relentless paperboy who's out to collect, and meeting the charming French-exchange-student-nextdoor who just might be the unexpected key to his happiness.