In the near future, a technology enabling time travel has been developed and is now in commercial use. A group of unaging (thanks to anti-aging pills, which have also been developed) Nazis conspires to alter the results of the Second World War by traveling back in time and supplying Adolf Hitler with a hydrogen bomb. To this end, they bribe the corrupt time machine pilot Karel, who agrees to assist them. On the day of the scheduled journey, Karel chokes on a breadroll and dies. His identical twin brother, Jan, cannot bring himself to tell Karel's fiancée Eva and begins to impersonate Karel. He is also later mistaken for Karel by the Nazis and stumbles along with their plot. Having been a designer of the rocket-ship time machine, he is able to pilot the ship and take them all back in time. When he realizes the nature of the Nazis' plans, Jan resolves to prevent their success. After triggering several paradoxes by travelling back and forth in time, he manages to defeat the Nazis and resolve the consequences of his twin's death.

Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Force B-25 bombardier, is stationed on the Mediterranean base on Pianosa during World War II. Along with his squadron members, Yossarian is committed to flying dangerous missions, but after watching friends die, he seeks a means of escape. While most bomber crews are rotated out after 25 missions, Yossarian's commanding officer, Colonel Cathcart, keeps raising the minimum number of missions for this base before anyone can reach it, eventually to an unobtainable 80 missions, a figure resulting from Cathcart's craving for publicity, primarily a mention in the nationally syndicated Saturday Evening Post magazine. Futilely appealing to Cathcart, Yossarian learns that even a mental breakdown is no release when Doc Daneeka explains the "Catch-22" the Army Air Force employs: An airman would have to be crazy to fly more missions, and if he were crazy, he would be unfit to fly.Yet, if an airman were to refuse to fly more missions, this would indicate that he is sane, which would mean that he would be fit to fly the missions. The airman is thus in an impossible "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. Yossarian is haunted, in several recurring flashbacks during the film, by the bloody death of Snowden, the young turret gunner on his B-25. After Snowden's death, Yossarian temporarily refuses to wear his uniform, which Snowden bled on. He shows up at a medal ceremony naked, and later morosely sits naked in a tree, where he is visited by Lieutenant Milo Minderbinder, who rapidly progresses from squadron supply officer to a capitalistic tycoon involved in black-market money-making schemes. The bomber squadron is populated by many other comically strange characters. Major Major, the squadron's operations officer, is promoted to a squadron commander without ever having flown in a plane and refuses to see anyone in his office while he is in, instructing Sergeant Towser that people can see him when he's out. The person has to wait in the waiting room until Major Major is gone, then can go right in. Trapped by this convoluted logic, Yossarian watches as individuals in the squadron resort to unusual means to cope; Milo concocts elaborate black market schemes while crazed Captain "Aarfy" Aardvark commits murder to silence a woman he has raped. Lieutenant Nately falls for a sex worker, Major Danby delivers goofy pep talks before every bomb run, and Captain Orr keeps crashing at sea. Meanwhile, Nurse Duckett occasionally beds Yossarian. Nately dies as a result of an agreement between Milo and the Germans, trading surplus cotton in exchange for the squadron bombing its own base. While on a pass, Yossarian shares this news with Nately's romantic partner, who then tries to kill him. Because of Yossarian's constant complaints, Cathcart and Lieutenant Colonel Korn eventually agree to send him home, promising him a promotion to major and awarding him a medal for the fictitious saving of Cathcart's life; the only requirement being that Yossarian agrees to "like" the colonels and praise them when he gets home. Immediately after agreeing to Cathcart's and Korn's plan, Yossarian survives an attempt on his life when stabbed by Nately's partner, who had disguised herself as a janitor. Once recovered, Yossarian learns from Danby and Chaplain Tappman that Orr's supposed death was a hoax and that Orr's repeated "crash" landings had been a subterfuge for practicing and planning his own escape from the madness. Yossarian is informed that Orr ditched the plane and paddled a rescue raft all the way to Sweden on his last run. Yossarian decides to abandon the deal with Cathcart, leaps out of the hospital window, takes a raft from a damaged plane and, while a marching band practices for the ceremony to award Yossarian the promotion and medal, he hops into the sea, climbs into the raft and starts paddling.

Christian is the curator of the X-Royal art museum in Stockholm, formerly the Royal Palace. He is interviewed by journalist Anne, struggling to explain museum parlance. Later, Christian is pulled into a confrontation at a pedestrian zone, after which he notices that his smartphone and wallet are missing, along with his cufflinks, presumably stolen in a confidence trick. Christian is able to track the position of his phone on his computer, which he and his assistant Michael trace to a large apartment block. They write a threatening anonymous letter demanding the return of the phone and wallet by depositing them at a nearby 7-Eleven. Christian puts a copy of the letter through each apartment mailbox that night. Several days later, a package for him is deposited at the store, containing the phone and the completely untouched wallet. Euphoric after the success of his plan, Christian goes to a party where he meets Anne again, before ending up in her apartment. After the two have sex, Anne offers to throw away a used condom but he steadfastly refuses to hand it over to her. They argue over the situation, as she believes he does not trust her to dispose of the semen rather than take it. Several days later, Anne meets Christian in the museum and states she is looking for more than casual sex. She asks him if he feels the same, but Christian is evasive. When Anne later tries to call him, he does not pick up the phone. The day after picking up the package, Christian is informed that a second one has arrived for him at the 7-Eleven. Suspicious, he sends Michael to pick it up. In the store, Michael is confronted by a young Arab boy who states that his parents believe that he is a thief because of the letter and demands that Christian apologizes to him and his family. Otherwise, the boy threatens to create "chaos" for him. Later, the boy visits Christian's home and confronts him, along with his two young daughters, on the staircase. Christian tries to send him away but the boy begins to knock on doors and screaming for help. In a fit of frustration, Christian pushes the boy down the stairs, though no one comes to his aid. Disturbed, Christian desperately searches the trash outside the house for a note which contains the boy's phone number. After finding it and unsuccessfully trying to call him, Christian records an apologetic video message. In the midst of these troubles, Christian has to manage the promotion of a new exhibition centered on an art piece called The Square by Lola Arias, which is described in the artist's statement: "The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations." The advertising agency commissioned by the museum to promote The Square states that they need to harness social media attention with something other than the uncontroversial and bland artist's statement. Advertising agency representatives consider a depiction of violence contradicting The Square ' s message, developing a promotional clip showing an impoverished girl entering The Square and being killed in an explosion. The video is published on the museum's website and YouTube channel after a distracted Christian gives his approval without viewing it. The clip goes viral, quickly reaching 300,000 YouTube views, but receives an extremely hostile response from the media, religious leaders and the general public. The museum arranges a press conference, where Christian states he violated protocol and is stepping down as curator in mutual agreement with the board. Several journalists then attack him for stirring up cheap controversy with a tasteless clip, while others attack him for self-censorship because of his resignation. Feeling guilty about wronging the boy, Christian drives to the apartment block several days later and tries to find him and his family. Christian talks to a neighbour who states that he knew the boy but that his family has moved away.

A singing narrator, Jonathan, introduces us to the story: in 1985, a high school student in Cumberland, Rhode Island, Ted Stroehmann, admires fellow student Mary Jensen from a distance. After Ted stands up to bullies to protect her developmentally disabled brother Warren, Mary asks Ted to the prom, as she has broken up with her boyfriend, Woogie. On the night of the prom, Ted gets his genitals caught in his fly. Ted is taken to the hospital and misses the prom. After that, Mary moved away, and Ted lost contact. 13 years later, Ted is a writer and thinks about Mary constantly. His best friend, Dom Woganowski, refers Ted to a private investigator, Pat Healy, to track her down. Pat discovers that she's an orthopedic surgeon living in Miami with Warren. After seeing Mary, Pat also becomes fixated on her. He lies to Ted about Mary, to try to disgust him and discourage him from contacting Mary. Pat moves to Miami, where he spies on Mary, and uses the information to charm her into dating him. Ted finds out that Pat lied about Mary. While driving to Miami to find Mary, he picks up a hitchhiker. Ted is mistakenly arrested for soliciting sex at a rest stop when he stops to urinate, and is charged with murder when the hitchhiker leaves a bag with body parts in his car. Ted is released after the hitchhiker confesses. Ted arrives in Miami with Dom, who picked him up from jail after seeing the arrest on TV. Ted finds Mary in Miami. He finds out that she's changed her name to Mary Matthews in order to evade a stalker. He asks her to dinner and she accepts. Mary stops dating Pat after her disabled friend, Tucker, shows her what he says are police records of Pat's criminal past, including murder. Pat follows Tucker and confronts him, discovering that he can walk, and that he's actually a pizza delivery boy named Norm, who is also stalking Mary. Dom advises Ted to masturbate before his dinner date with Mary to calm his nerves. When he answers the door to meet Mary, Ted doesn't notice that his ejaculate is stuck to his ear. Mary assumes the semen is hair gel, and puts it in her bangs. The date goes well and they continue to see each other, while Pat and Norm attempt to sabotage Ted by drugging Mary's neighbor Magda's dog with speed. Mary dumps Ted after she gets an anonymous letter revealing that Ted hired Pat to find her. Ted confronts Pat, who denies sending the letter. Dom shows up in Mary's apartment and admits he wrote the letter. Dom is revealed to be Mary's ex-boyfriend "Woogie" and the stalker that she changed her identity to evade. Norm and Pat, listening outside, hear Dom struggling to steal Mary's shoes, and intervene. Ted shows up with Brett Favre, another ex-boyfriend of Mary's whom she left based on Norm's lies. Ted declares that he can accept that he's no better than the other stalkers and that Mary should be with Brett. Ted leaves in tears. He's followed out by Mary, who has decided she'd be happiest with Ted. They kiss. Magda's boyfriend uses a sniper rifle to attempt to shoot Ted, as he's also infatuated with Mary and is only using Magda to get close to her. He misses, but hits the singing narrator, Jonathan.

In 2005, David Packouz, a massage therapist living in Miami, Florida with his girlfriend Iz, spends his life savings on an unsuccessful venture to sell bedsheets to retirement homes. David runs into his old friend Efraim Diveroli, whose company, AEY Inc., sells arms to the US government for the war in Iraq. Efraim explains that all military equipment contracts up for bidding are posted on a public website, and he bids on small orders that, although ignored by larger contractors, are still worth millions of dollars. After Iz informs David she is pregnant, Efraim offers him a job at AEY. David accepts, but he lies to Iz, telling her they will be selling sheets to the military; when she later learns the truth, she tells him she understands what he is doing, but insists that he stop lying to her. Efraim gives David a crash course on arms dealing and introduces him to his silent partner, businessman Ralph Slutsky, who funds AEY’s deals under the false belief that the company only sells arms to protect Israel. David and Efraim land a contract to provide 5,000 Beretta pistols to the Iraqi police, but they have to circumvent an Italian embargo by sending the shipment to Baghdad through Jordan, where it is seized by customs. If they fail to deliver the pistols, AEY will be blacklisted from future contracts. They fly to Jordan, bribe local officials to release the shipment, and, with a smuggler, take it into Iraq themselves by truck. They are paid handsomely for driving it through the “ Triangle of Death ”. David again lies to Iz, telling her he was in Jordan the whole time. AEY expands its operations and David's daughter Ella is born, while Efraim grows more unstable and untrustworthy. The company has a chance at a contract to supply 100 million rounds of AK-47 ammunition to the Afghan military at a time when this ammunition is in short supply. At a convention, David and Efraim encounter arms dealer Henry Girard, who has sole access to massive stocks of unused Soviet-era weapons in Albania that the Albanians are required by NATO to liquidate. Barred from dealing directly with the US, Girard proposes to sell AEY the ammunition it needs. AEY wins the contract. Before David leaves for eight weeks in Albania to supervise the loading of the ammunition, Iz, who is fed up with David lying to her, leaves him to stay at her mother's with Ella. In Albania, David discovers the ammunition is Chinese -made and thus illegal under a US embargo, so Efraim has it repackaged to mask its origin. On learning Henry has charged them a 400% markup, Efraim decides, despite David’s protests, to cut Henry out of the deal. Henry retaliates by having David kidnapped, beaten, and threatened at gunpoint, leading David to return to Miami to confront Efraim. As David is about to leave, Enver, the Albanian handling the repackaging, tells him he has been paid nothing; David promises Enver to get his money wired to him from Miami. On returning to Miami, David quits AEY and demands compensation for his work on the Afghan deal, but Efraim refuses to pay him anything. David returns to working as a massage therapist and convinces Iz to move back in with him after telling her the truth about AEY. Three months later, Efraim, with Ralph serving as a mediator, offers David a paltry severance package; David tells Ralph what they have been doing, unaware that Ralph is wearing a listening device for the FBI. They have been denounced by Enver, who was never paid. David and Efraim are arrested. Efraim is sentenced to four years in prison, while David pleads guilty and is sentenced to seven months of house arrest. Some time later, Henry contacts David and apologizes for abducting him in Albania; he also thanks David for not mentioning him in his testimony and offers him a briefcase full of money he made from the Afghan deal.

In 1973 San Fernando Valley, 15-year-old actor Gary Valentine meets 25-year-old Alana Kane, a photographer's assistant, at his school picture day. She is put off by his invitation to dinner, but shows up anyway. When Gary's mother cannot chaperone him on a press tour performance in New York City, he invites Alana. He is jealous when Alana begins dating his co-star Lance, but they break up after Lance reveals he is an atheist during Shabbat dinner with her Jewish family. Gary begins selling waterbeds and reconnects with Alana at a teenage trade expo. Mistaken for a murder suspect, Gary is arrested and Alana runs after him to the police station, but he is soon released. Alana joins Gary's waterbed business, acting seductively on the phone to land a potential customer. Introducing her to his talent agent, he is upset that she is open to nudity but refuses to show him her breasts. She impulsively does so, but slaps him when he asks to touch them. They open a "Fat Bernie's" storefront for their waterbeds, and Alana is hurt when Gary flirts with his classmate Sue. Peeking in on them making out in the back room, Alana kisses a man on the street before storming off back home. Gary's agent secures an audition for Alana for a film starring veteran actor Jack Holden, who takes her to the Tail o' the Cock restaurant, where Gary and his friends are also dining. An intoxicated Alana makes Gary jealous, and Holden's friend, film director Rex Blau, convinces him to recreate one of his motorcycle stunts on a nearby golf course, bringing the entire restaurant along. Alana topples off the bike before Holden jumps over a flaming sand trap, and Gary runs to her side. Reconciled, they walk to the waterbed store, where Gary stops himself from touching a sleeping Alana's breast. The 1973 oil crisis sweeps the country, forcing the waterbed manufacturer to close. Alana, Gary, and his friends make one final delivery to the home of Jon Peters, who humiliates Gary before leaving to meet his girlfriend, Barbra Streisand. Filling up the waterbed inside, Gary intentionally leaves the hose running, with Alana's approval. They drive away but are waved down by an agitated Peters, whose car has run out of gas, and leave him at a crowded gas station when he violently commandeers a gas pump. Gary stops to smash Peters's car, but runs out of gas as well. Alana maneuvers their truck backward down a long hill to a gas station, impressing Gary, but causing her to question her recent decisions. Inspired by a campaign poster, Alana reaches out to her old classmate Brian, who brings her on as volunteer staffer for Joel Wachs, a city councilman running for mayor. Gary briefly joins her but overhears that pinball will soon be legalized in the Valley and decides to open an arcade, leading to an argument with Alana about their difference in age and their fraught relationship. Emasculating Gary to make herself feel superior, Alana offers to drive him home in an attempt to make peace, but Gary drives off alone. Later, Gary prepares for the opening night of his arcade, remodeling his storefront into "Fat Bernie's Pinball Palace." That same night, Alana nearly shares a kiss with Brian, but is interrupted by an invitation from Wachs. Thinking it is a date, she is dejected to discover Wachs wants her to pose as the girlfriend of his secret boyfriend, Matthew, to save him from political embarrassment. Alana walks a deeply hurt Matthew home, and they commiserate over the men in their lives. She goes to the arcade to find Gary, who has left to look for her at Wachs's office, with her sisters' encouragement. They eventually run to each other's arms and return to the arcade, where Gary announces her as "Mrs. Alana Valentine." Sharing a kiss, they run into the night, and Alana tells Gary that she loves him.

In 1991, following the critical and commercial failure of her biography of Estée Lauder, author Lee Israel struggles with financial troubles, writer's block, and alcoholism. Her only friend is her cat, which has a health issue. Lee hopes to write a biography of comedian Fanny Brice, who died in 1951. Her literary agent Marjorie sharply rejects the idea, noting that Brice’s life no longer interests people. Marjorie explains that Lee, with her difficult personality, is responsible for her own career slump. With Marjorie unable to secure her an advance for a new book, regardless of subject matter, Lee resorts to selling her possessions to cover living expenses. She sells a personal letter she received long ago from Katharine Hepburn to a used bookstore merchant and autograph dealer named Anna. Lee begins spending time with old acquaintance Jack Hock after a chance encounter with him at a gay bar called Julius’. He reveals to her that he has been banned from all locations of the Duane Reade chain of stores because he was caught shoplifting. Lee visits a Manhattan library's special collections department to research Fanny Brice and discovers two letters typewritten by Brice. She removes one of them from the building, takes it to Anna's store, and shows it to her. Anna makes Lee an offer that is lower than what she was expecting, due to the letter's bland content. Lee returns home and uses a typewriter to add a postscript to the letter. Lee returns to the store where Anna, amused by what "Fanny Brice" wrote "several decades ago", offers Lee $350. Anna reveals to Lee that she has written some short stories and is soliciting advice about whether they are good enough to be published. The socially phobic Lee replies cautiously, as this is apparently the first time in many years that a woman has tried to befriend her and is asking for her help with getting something published. Lee uses some of the $350 Anna gave her to pay for veterinary treatment of her sick cat. The veterinary clinic previously had turned her and her cat away because of insufficient funds. Lee, emboldened by her success with selling the Brice letter, starts forging and selling letters supposedly written by deceased celebrities, incorporating intimate details to command high prices. Anna, a fan of Lee's biographies, tries to initiate a romantic relationship but may have another motive. On their dinner date, she gives Lee a manila envelope containing an original short story with the hope that Lee will critique it. Moments after they leave the restaurant, the socially phobic Lee appears to rebuff Anna. In some of Lee's letters, she has Noël Coward make references to his social life that reflects his homosexuality. A used-book dealer named Paul buys one of them from Lee and sends it to a friend of his who knew Coward. The recipient doubts Coward would have risked his privacy and relays his suspicions. Paul then raises an alarm that leads to Lee's customers blacklisting her. Unable to sell more forgeries, she has Jack sell them on her behalf, since the customers do not know he has a connection to Lee. She also starts stealing authentic letters from libraries and archives for Jack to sell, replacing them with forged duplicates. While Lee is out of town committing one such theft, she lets Jack stay in her apartment. He brings a young waiter from the gay bar Julius’ to join him there. Lee’s cat dies while under Jack’s care during the night he and the waiter spend together. Lee ends their friendship but continues their partnership out of necessity. The FBI arrests Jack while he is attempting a sale. He cooperates with them, resulting in Lee being served with a court summons. She retains a lawyer, who advises her to show contrition by getting a job, doing community service, and joining Alcoholics Anonymous. In court Lee says she enjoyed creating the forgeries but that her actions were ultimately not worth it because she lost her cat and her friendship with her criminal accomplice. He “may have been an idiot, but he tolerated me, and he was nice to have around.” The judge sentences Lee to five years' probation and six months' house arrest. During house arrest Lee skips her court-ordered AA meeting to meet with Jack, who is dying of AIDS, at the gay bar Julius’. They reconcile. Lee does not comment on or ask about his health. He grants her permission to write a memoir about their escapades. Sometime later, while Lee is passing a bookstore, she sees a Dorothy Parker letter she forged that is now on sale for $1,900. She writes the store owner a sarcastic note from the deceased Parker revealing that the letter is a fake. After reading the note, the owner goes to retrieve the letter but then decides to keep it on display.

Free City is an online game developed by Soonami Studios. Its " players "—people in real life —wear sunglasses and spend their time fighting each other and causing mayhem. The non-player characters (NPCs) accept the chaos while living out their scripted lives, unaware that the world they live in is a video game. These NPCs include Guy, who works as a clerk in Free City's bank with his best friend, security guard Buddy. Unemployed software developer Millie Rusk plays Free City to find proof that Soonami stole the source code from the concept game she developed, Life Itself, which included novel artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for its NPCs. Her friend and co-developer Walter "Keys" McKey is reluctant to help, as he now works in technical support at Soonami. Millie's avatar "MolotovGirl" catches Guy's attention by singing his favorite song, " Fantasy ". Guy then begins to deviate from his programming, accidentally shooting a player robbing the bank, and leaving with the player's sunglasses. Believing Guy to be a hacker disguised as an NPC, Keys and his coworker Mouser unsuccessfully try to ban him from the game. Accessing the players' view of the game, Guy visits new areas and meets Millie at vlogger Revenjamin Buttons' stash house, where they attempt to steal evidence leading to her source code. Believing Guy to be a novice player, she advises him to level up. Guy rapidly progresses through the game by completing missions benevolently, standing out from other players and becoming a worldwide sensation known as "Blue Shirt Guy". As Keys realizes that Guy truly is an NPC, other NPCs that Guy interacts with also begin to develop self-awareness. However, Free City 2 is due to release in 48 hours and will replace Free City, terminating all of its NPCs. Millie tells Guy the truth about his existence, but he becomes distraught and breaks off contact. Guy eventually realizes that there is something more to an NPC's existence, and goes with Buddy to get the evidence Millie wanted from Buttons, who accidentally glitched through the edge of Free City ' s map and discovered an older build of Life Itself, recording a video clip in the process. Guy's popularity threatens the plans of Soonami's CEO Antwan Hovachelik to launch Free City 2, so he orders a server reboot which resets Guy's memories. Guy regains his self-awareness when Millie kisses him. Guy recalls the location of an island containing remnants of the Life Itself build and they attempt to reach it before the Free City 2 launch wipes all old content from the servers, rallying the NPCs to go on strike from the game to hinder Antwan. Antwan fires Keys, has every player removed from Free City, and sends an unfinished but extremely powerful Guy-resembling character named Dude into the game to stop Guy. Initially overwhelmed, Guy then puts his sunglasses on Dude, distracting him, and proceeds to the island. Furious, Antwan begins smashing the game's network server racks with an axe in a last-ditch attempt to stop Guy, erasing Buddy and much of the game world, while firing Mouser after he soon realized that he did steal Millie's code. Before he can destroy the final server, Guy manages to reach the island and Millie offers a deal to drop the copyright infringement lawsuit and surrender the Free City franchise's profits to him in exchange for her creation. Antwan agrees to her terms, believing she made a bad deal. Sometime later, sales for Free City 2 slip because of bugs in the code and lagging online play. An embattled Antwan is in the crosshairs, but claims he is a victim of circumstance. Millie salvages her code and along with Keys and Mouser, releases the indie game Free Life, which includes Guy, Dude, and the other NPCs from Free City. Guy reveals to Millie that his code is actually a love letter to her from Keys: during the development of Life Itself, Keys had encoded what he knew about her tastes into an AI routine in the game, which was eventually incorporated into Free City, explaining why Guy felt drawn to MolotovGirl. After Millie leaves the game, she and Keys kiss. Meanwhile, Guy and Dude reunite with Buddy, whose AI algorithm was reconstructed.

One night while leaving a business party in the Hollywood Hills, corporate raider Edward Lewis takes his lawyer Philip's Lotus Esprit and finds himself in the red-light district on Hollywood Boulevard, where he meets street walker Vivian Ward. Lost and struggling to operate the stickshift car, Edward accepts Vivian's offer to drive him to the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Impulsively, he hires her for the whole night, and despite initial awkwardness, they have sex in his penthouse suite. The following day, Edward asks Vivian to stay for the week, as he must attend a series of business events while attempting to acquire Jim Morse's shipbuilding company. After negotiating, Edward and Vivian agree on $3,000. He also gives her money to buy appropriate clothes. When Vivian tries to shop on Rodeo Drive, snobbish and rude saleswomen turn her away because of the way she looks. She asks hotel manager Barney for assistance. He gets store saleslady Bridget to find her a cocktail dress for that evening's business dinner. Later, she gets Barney to teach her table etiquette. Edward is astounded by Vivian's transformation. At dinner, he introduces Vivian to Morse and his grandson David, who is to take over the company. The dinner does not go well, as they are unhappy with Edward's plan to dismantle their company. Later, Edward tells Vivian about his personal and business life, including his estranged relationship with his late father. Edward takes Vivian along as his date to a polo match. When Philip sees Vivian talking to David Morse, he tells Edward his suspicions that she is a corporate spy. Edward dismisses Philip's concerns by explaining their arrangement. With the knowledge of Vivian's true background, the married Philip talks to her alone and crudely propositions her for her services. Back in Edward's suite, Vivian is angry with Edward for exposing her in that way. He apologizes, admitting that he was jealous of Vivian talking to David. Edward takes Vivian by private jet to see La traviata at the San Francisco Opera, a story about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man. She is moved, and she breaks her "no kissing" rule before having sex with him. Believing Edward has fallen asleep, Vivian says she loves him. As the week is almost finished, Edward offers to get Vivian a condominium and an allowance, promising to visit her regularly. However, Vivian feels he is treating her like a prostitute. She shares her childhood fantasy of being rescued by a knight on a white steed. Edward meets with Morse, but chooses to work with him to save his company instead of dismantling it. Philip, furious that Edward's new direction has cost him a fortune, goes to the Beverly Wilshire to confront him. He finds Vivian. Blaming her for Edward's changes and angry at his business decision, Philip hits her and attempts to rape her. Edward arrives, pulls Philip off Vivian, punches him, and fires him. After completing his business in Los Angeles, Edward asks Vivian to stay with him for one more night, but only if she wants to, not because he is paying her. She gently refuses and leaves after telling him she thinks he has "lots of special gifts". Vivian returns to her apartment hotel to pack for her move to San Francisco to get a new job and a high-school diploma. She gives her roommate, fellow prostitute Kit De Luca, some money and tells her she has "a lot of potential". Kit leaves sex work and enrolls in beauty classes. Vivian then waits in the apartment for the bus. Edward has the chauffeur take him to her apartment. He climbs out of the white limousine's sunroof and ascends the fire escape to "rescue" Vivian, just like the knight in her childhood fantasy. When he asks her what happens after the knight rescues her, she responds, "She rescues him right back", and kisses him.

In 1975, Ron Burgundy is a famous anchorman for a San Diego TV station, KVWN Channel 4, working alongside his lifelong friends on the news team: lead field reporter Brian Fantana, sportscaster Champ Kind, and meteorologist Brick Tamland. Station director Ed Harken informs the team that they have retained their long-held status as the highest-rated news program in San Diego, prompting them to throw a wild party, where Ron unsuccessfully attempts to pick up a beautiful blonde woman named Veronica Corningstone. Ed later informs the team that they have been forced to hire Veronica. After a series of unsuccessful attempts by the team to seduce her, she finally agrees to a "professional tour" of the city with Ron, culminating in a sexual relationship. Despite agreeing to keep the relationship discreet, Ron announces it on air. After a dispute with a motorcyclist ends in Ron's beloved dog Baxter being punted off the San Diego–Coronado Bridge, Ron is late to work. Veronica fills in for him on air, drawing higher ratings than Ron usually does, and the couple breaks up when he bemoans her success. Veronica is promoted to co-anchor, to the team's disgust. The co-anchors become fierce rivals off-air while maintaining a phony facade of cordiality on-air. Depressed, the team (barring Veronica) decides to buy new suits, but Brick, leading the way, gets them lost in a shady part of town. Confronted by the main competitor, Wes Mantooth and his news team, Ron challenges them to a fight. When several other news teams converge on-site (including the Channel Two News team, the Public News Team, and the Spanish-language News team), a full-on melee ensues, only broken up by police sirens that cause them to flee. Realizing that having a female co-anchor is damaging their reputation, Ron gets into another heated argument with Veronica, and they end up in a physical fight after she insults his hair. After one of Veronica's co-workers informs her that Ron will read whatever is written on the teleprompter, she sneaks into the station and alters the text in revenge. The next day, he (unaware of what he is saying) concludes the broadcast with " Go fuck yourself, San Diego!" instead of his signature closing line, "You stay classy, San Diego!" triggering an angry mob outside the studio and forcing Ed to fire him. Realizing she went too far, Veronica confesses to him that she was responsible, making him angry. Unemployed, friendless, and heavily antagonized by the public, Ron grows depressed while Veronica enjoys her newfound fame, with Brian, Champ, and Brick begrudgingly working with her. Ed has warned against them talking to Ron, under threat that they'd be fired as well. Three months later, when a panda is about to give birth, every news team in San Diego rushes to the zoo to cover the story. In an attempt to sabotage her, a rival news anchor pushes Veronica into a Kodiak bear enclosure. When Ed is unable to locate her, he recruits and rehires Ron. Once at the zoo, Ron, with his morale restored, jumps into the bear pen to save Veronica as the public watches. The rest of the news team then jumps in to save them. Just as a bear is about to attack, Ron's dog Baxter, who miraculously survived his fall, intervenes and encourages the bear to spare them. As the group climbs out of the pit, Wes appears and holds the ladder over the bear pit, threatening to drop Ron back in, saying that deep down, he has always hated him, but then admits he does respect him before pulling him to safety. After Ron and Veronica reconcile, it is shown that, in the years to come, Brian becomes the host of a Fox reality show named Intercourse Island, Brick is married with 11 children and is a top political adviser to George W. Bush, Champ is a commentator for the NFL before getting fired after being accused by Terry Bradshaw of sexual harassment, and Ron and Veronica are co-anchors for the CNN -esque World News Center.

In the wealthy African nation of Zamunda, crown prince Akeem Joffer grows weary of his pampered lifestyle on his 21st birthday and wishes to do more for himself without servants at his every whim. When his parents King Jaffe and Queen Aoleon present him with Imani Izzi, an arranged bride-to-be, Akeem takes action. King Jaffe gives Akeem 40 days to sew his wild oats and visit the world before the wedding commences. Seeking an independent woman who could think for herself and love him for himself and not his social status, Akeem and his best friend/personal aide Semmi travel to the New York City borough of Queens and rent a squalid tenement in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights under the guise of poor foreign students. Beginning their search for Akeem's bride, Akeem and Semmi are invited by local barber shop owner Clarence to a rally raising money for the neighborhood. During the rally, Akeem encounters Lisa McDowell who possesses all the qualities he is looking for in a woman. Upon his insistence, he and Semmi get entry-level jobs working at the local fast-food restaurant called McDowell's, a McDonald's knockoff owned by Lisa's widowed father Cleo, who is dodging trademark infringement accusations from McDonalds. Akeem's attempts to win Lisa's love are complicated by Lisa's lazy and obnoxious boyfriend Darryl Jenks whose father owns Soul Glo (a Jheri curl –like hairstyling aid). He even agreed to accompany them along with Lisa's sister, Patrice, on a double-date to a basketball game where he is recognized by an immigrant from Zamunda. After stopping an armed robber who hit McDowells on multiple occasions, Akeem and Semmi are invited to Cleo's home, where he assigned them duties for a soiree he was hosting. There, Darryl announces his engagement to Lisa—without Lisa's consent—to their families. Infuriated by this, she calls it off with Darryl and starts dating Akeem who claims that he comes from a family of poor goat herders. Meanwhile, Semmi hooks up with Patrice, telling her half the truth, claiming to be the prince, himself. Although Akeem thrives on hard work and learning how commoners live, Semmi is not comfortable with living in such meager conditions. After a dinner date with Lisa is thwarted when Semmi furnishes their apartment with a hot tub and other high end luxuries, Akeem confiscates his money and donates it to a homeless Mortimer and Randolph Duke. Semmi wires a telegraph to King Jaffe for more money, prompting the Joffers to travel to Queens to find him. Cleo initially disapproves of Akeem as he believes he is poor and therefore not good enough for his daughter. He becomes ecstatic when he discovers that Akeem is actually an extremely wealthy prince, after meeting his parents. When Akeem discovers that his parents have arrived in New York, he and Lisa go to the McDowell residence in Jamaica Estates to lie low and Cleo welcomes them while driving away Darryl. After Cleo's bond with Akeem is ruined by the unexpected arrival of the Zamundan entourage, Lisa later becomes angry and confused that Akeem lied to her about his identity. When King Jaffe insults Lisa's status, an offended Cleo comes to his daughters aid and refuses to take a dime from Jaffe. Akeem later chases down Lisa and explains that he wanted her to love him for who, not what, he is, even offering to renounce his throne. Still hurt and angry, Lisa refuses to marry him and returns him the jeweled earrings he gifted her in secret. Despondent, Akeem resigns himself to the arranged marriage with Imani. As they leave, Aoleon reprimands Jaffe for clinging to outdated traditions instead of thinking of their son's happiness. At the wedding procession, a still-heartbroken Akeem becomes surprised when his veiled bride is Lisa herself as Cleo also comes out. Following the ceremony, they ride happily in a carriage to the cheers of Zamundans. Witnessing such splendor, Lisa is both surprised and touched by the fact that Akeem would have given it up just for her. Akeem offers again to abdicate if she does not want this life but Lisa playfully declines.

In the early 1960s, a motown three-girl " Greek chorus " – Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon – introduce the film, warning the audience of some impending horror ("Prologue: Little Shop of Horrors"). Orphaned Seymour Krelborn and his co-worker, Audrey, work at Mushnik's Flower Shop in the rough, rundown Skid Row neighborhood of New York City, which they lament that they cannot escape ("Skid Row (Downtown)"). Struggling from a lack of customers, Mr. Mushnik decides to close the store, but Audrey suggests he may have more success by displaying an unusual plant that Seymour owns. Immediately attracting a customer, Seymour explains he bought the plant – which he dubbed "Audrey II" – from a Chinese flower shop during a solar eclipse ("Da-Doo"). The plant brings much business to Mushnik's shop but soon starts to wither. Seymour accidentally pricks his finger and discovers that Audrey II needs human blood to thrive ("Grow for Me"). Soon after, Audrey II begins to grow rapidly, and earns Seymour a spot on energetic DJ Wink Wilkinson's radio show, making him a local celebrity. Meanwhile, Audrey suffers at the hands of her sadistic and evil biker boyfriend, Orin Scrivello; however, she has feelings for Seymour and secretly dreams of being married and living happily with him in the suburbs ("Somewhere That's Green"). Seymour continues to feed Audrey II his own blood, draining his energy ("Some Fun Now"). He attempts to ask Audrey out, but she turns him down because she has a date with Orin, who is revealed to be a dentist who enjoys his patients’ misery ("Dentist!"). After Seymour closes up shop, Audrey II finally has a chance to speak to Seymour, demanding more blood than Seymour can give. The plant suggests that Seymour murder someone, promising to bring him fame and fortune that will impress Audrey. Seymour initially refuses but eventually agrees after he witnesses Orin physically and verbally abusing Audrey in the street ("Feed Me (Git It!)"). After Orin finishes with his masochistic patient, Arthur Denton, who had requested "a long, slow, root canal", Seymour draws a revolver on Orin, but cannot bring himself to use it. Orin, who abuses nitrous oxide, puts on a type of venturi mask to receive a constant flow of the gas, but breaks the valve, and Seymour watches as he asphyxiates. Seymour dismembers Orin's body and feeds it to Audrey II, which has grown to enormous size, but is unknowingly witnessed by Mushnik, who flees in fear. Audrey, feeling guilty over Orin's disappearance, is comforted by Seymour and the two admit their feelings for each other ("Suddenly, Seymour"). That night, Mushnik confronts Seymour about Orin's death. Holding Seymour at gunpoint, Mushnik threatens to turn Seymour over to the police but reconsiders and instead offers to stay silent and let Seymour flee Skid Row in exchange for the plant and its profits. As Audrey II opens its mouth to feed, Seymour begins to tell Mushnik how to care for the plant and backs him into the plant's reach. The plant swallows Mushnik whole ("Suppertime"). Despite widespread success, Seymour worries about Audrey II's growth and unbridled appetite ("The Meek Shall Inherit"). Torn between continuing his partnership with the plant and the thought of losing Audrey if he's no longer successful, Seymour becomes overwhelmed. Audrey congratulates Seymour on a contract for a botany TV show and tells Seymour the producers will return with the money the following day. Seeing a way out, Seymour proposes to Audrey, asking her to marry him that afternoon. He'll take the money in the morning and escape Skid Row with Audrey, leaving the plant to starve. After Audrey accepts Seymour's marriage proposal, Audrey II catches Seymour leaving and demands another meal: Seymour agrees but insists on meat from a butcher. While Seymour is gone, the plant telephones Audrey, coaxes her into the shop and attacks her ("Suppertime II").