The film is presented in a series of vignettes, with narration provided by the adult Ralphie Parker. As a 9-year-old boy living in Northwest Indiana around the late 1930s or early 1940s, all Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle. Ralphie's request is rebuffed by his mother, then by his teacher Miss Shields when he writes about it in an assigned theme, and even by a disgruntled Santa at Higbee's department store, all of whom tell Ralphie "You'll shoot your eye out". On Christmas morning, Ralphie receives some presents that he enjoys, but is disappointed not to find the rifle among them. Ralphie's father ("The Old Man") directs him to one last box hidden in the corner, which proves to contain the rifle. Ralphie eagerly hurries outside to try it out, but when he shoots at the metal target he has set up, the BB ricochets and knocks off his glasses. Ralphie accidentally steps on and breaks the glasses while trying to find them; he makes up a cover story about an icicle falling from the roof of the garage and hitting his eye, which fools his mother and keeps him from getting into trouble. That night, Ralphie goes to sleep with the gun by his side, as his adult self reflects that it was the best Christmas present he had ever received or would ever receive.

A pair of truck drivers, Gorō and his younger colleague Gun, stop at a nondescript roadside ramen noodle shop. Outside, Gorō rescues a boy who is being beaten by three schoolmates. The boy, Tabo, is the son of Tampopo, the widowed owner of the struggling ramen shop, Lai Lai. Inside, a customer called Pisuken harasses Tampopo, demanding that she sell the shop. Gorō suggests Pisuken be quiet so he can enjoy his meal, then provokes a physical confrontation. Gorō puts up a good fight but, outnumbered by Pisuken and his men, he is knocked out and awakens the next morning in Tampopo's home. The next morning, she cooks breakfast for Gorō and Gun in her home kitchen and sends Tabo off to school. While eating breakfast, Tampopo asks for their opinion of her ramen, Gorō and Gun tell her it is "sincere, but lacks character." After Gorō gives her some advice, she asks him to become her teacher. They decide to turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle soup making". She and Gorō visit her competitors and he points out their strengths and weaknesses. Still struggling to perfect the broth, Gorō takes her to a homeless encampment to enlist the "old master". When they rescue a wealthy elderly man from choking on his food, the man lends her the services of his chauffeur Shohei, who has a masterly way with noodles. Gun and his friends give Tampopo a makeover as a modern proprietress. During the transition, the group agrees to change the restaurant's name from "Lai Lai" to "Tampopo". Unrelated vignettes of other characters are also intercut within the main storyline:

Jake Blues, a blues vocalist and petty criminal, is paroled from Joliet Prison after serving three years of a five-year sentence for armed robbery and is picked up by his brother Elwood in a battered former police car. Jake complains that Elwood is driving a police car, and Elwood demonstrates its capabilities by jumping an open drawbridge. They visit the Catholic orphanage where they were raised, and learn from Sister Mary Stigmata that it will be closed unless it pays $5,000 in property taxes. At the suggestion of their friend Curtis, they attend a sermon by the Reverend Cleophus James at the Triple Rock Baptist Church, where Jake has an epiphany: they can reform their band, the Blues Brothers, which disbanded while Jake was in prison, and raise the money to save the orphanage. That night, state troopers attempt to arrest Elwood for driving with a suspended license due to dozens of parking tickets and moving violations. The brothers escape after a car chase through the Dixie Square Mall. As they arrive at the flophouse where Elwood lives, a mysterious woman fires a rocket launcher at them but misses. The next morning, as the police arrive at the flophouse, the same woman detonates a bomb that demolishes the building but leaves Jake and Elwood unharmed, saving them from arrest. Jake and Elwood begin tracking down members of the band. Five of them are performing as Murph and the Magic Tones at a deserted Holiday Inn lounge and quickly rejoin. Their trumpeter Mr. Fabulous turns them down as he is the maître d' at an expensive restaurant but relents when the brothers dine with poor manners and threaten to become regular patrons. On their way to meet the final two members, the brothers find the road through Jackson Park blocked by a neo-Nazi demonstration on a bridge; Elwood runs them off the bridge into the East Lagoon. The neo-Nazis swear revenge. The brothers find Matt "Guitar" Murphy, who now runs a soul food restaurant on Maxwell Street with his wife and "Blue Lou" Marini. Murphy's wife advises him against rejoining the band, to no avail. The group obtains instruments and equipment from Ray's Music Exchange, and Ray, "as usual", takes an IOU. As Jake attempts to book a gig, the mystery woman blows up his phone booth; once again, he is miraculously unhurt. The band stumbles onto a gig at Bob's Country Bunker, a honky-tonk in Kokomo, Indiana, by impersonating the country and western band booked. They win over the rowdy crowd, but run up a bar tab higher than their pay, and infuriate the Good Ole Boys, the band they impersonated. Realizing they need a big show to raise the necessary money, the brothers manage to book the Palace Hotel Ballroom, north of Chicago. They drive around Chicago promoting the concert, alerting the police, the neo-Nazis and the Good Ole Boys of their whereabouts. The ballroom is packed with fans, police officers and the Good Ole Boys. Jake and Elwood perform two songs, then sneak offstage, as the tax deadline rapidly approaches. A record company executive offers them a $10,000 cash advance on a recording contract - more than enough to pay off the orphanage's taxes and the IOU - and tells them how to slip out of the building unnoticed. As they escape through a service tunnel, they are confronted by the mystery woman: Jake's vengeful ex- fiancée. After her volley of M16 rifle bullets leaves them once again miraculously unharmed, Jake offers a series of ridiculous excuses that she rejects. When she looks into his eyes, though, she takes interest in him again and becomes distracted long enough for the brothers to escape in their car. Jake and Elwood race back toward Chicago, with dozens of state and local police and the Good Ole Boys and the Nazis in pursuit. They elude them all with a series of improbable maneuvers, including a miraculous gravity-defying escape from the neo-Nazis. Finally arriving at the Chicago City Hall building, they rush inside, followed by hundreds of law enforcement officers, firefighters and the National Guard. The brothers find the Cook County Assessor's office and successfully pay the tax bill but are arrested by the mob of law officers immediately after. In prison, the band plays " Jailhouse Rock " for the inmates.

Comedian Alvy Singer is trying to understand why his relationship with Annie Hall ended a year earlier. Growing up in Brooklyn, he vexed his mother with impossible questions about the emptiness of existence, and was precocious about his innocent sexual curiosity, suddenly kissing a classmate at six years old and not understanding why she was not keen to reciprocate. Annie and Alvy, waiting in a movie theater line to see The Sorrow and the Pity, overhear another man deriding the work of Federico Fellini and referencing Marshall McLuhan. Alvy imagines McLuhan himself stepping in at his invitation to criticize the man's comprehension of his work. That night, Annie shows no interest in sex with Alvy. Instead, they discuss his first wife, whom he devalued because of her interest in him. His second marriage was to a New York writer who did not share his enthusiasm for sports and was unable to reach orgasm. With Annie, it is different. The two of them have fun cooking a meal of boiled lobster together. He teases her about the unusual men in her past. They had met playing tennis doubles with friends. Following the game, awkward small talk leads her to offer him a ride uptown, and then a glass of wine on her balcony. There, what seemed a mild exchange of trivial personal data is revealed in "mental subtitles" as an escalating flirtation. Their first date follows Annie's singing audition for a nightclub (" It Had to Be You "). After having sex that night, Alvy is "a wreck", while Annie relaxes with a joint. Soon, Annie admits she loves Alvy, while he buys her books on death and says that his feelings for her are more than just love. When Annie moves in with him, things become very tense. Eventually, Alvy finds Annie arm-in-arm with one of her adult-education professors, and the two begin arguing over whether this is the "flexibility" they had discussed. They eventually break up, and he searches for the truth of relationships, asking strangers on the street about the nature of love, questioning his formative years, and imagining a cartoon version of himself arguing with a cartoon Annie portrayed as the Evil Queen in Snow White. Alvy attempts a return to dating, but the effort is marred by neurosis and an underwhelming sexual encounter that is interrupted when Annie calls in the middle of the night, urging him to come over immediately to kill a spider in her bathroom. A reconciliation follows, coupled with a vow to stay together, come what may. However, their separate discussions with their therapists make it evident that there is an unspoken and unbridgeable divide. When Alvy accepts an offer to present an award on television, they travel to Los Angeles with Alvy's friend Rob. However, on the return trip, they agree that their relationship is not working. After losing Annie to her record producer, Tony Lacey, Alvy unsuccessfully tries to rekindle the flame with a marriage proposal. Back in New York, he stages a play of their relationship, but he changes the ending: now she accepts. The last meeting between Annie and Alvy takes place on Manhattan 's Upper West Side after they have both moved on to someone new. Alvy concludes that, although relationships are irrational, crazy, and absurd, people still need them.

Carrying out his first order, inexperienced hitman Ray shoots a priest during confession, but accidentally kills an altar boy standing in the line of fire. He and his mentor Ken are sent by their boss, Harry, to hide in Bruges, where they are to sightsee and await further instruction. Ken finds the city beautiful and relaxing, while Ray is bored and hates it. They chance upon a film shoot involving a dwarf actor, which amuses Ray. Ray is attracted to Chloë, a local drug dealer moonlighting as a production assistant. He takes her to a restaurant, where he gets into an argument with a Canadian couple over smoking indoors and punches them. Chloë takes Ray to her apartment where they begin to have foreplay, but her ex-boyfriend Eirik appears and threatens Ray with a handgun. Ray effortlessly disarms the small-time criminal and fires the gun, loaded with blanks, in Eirik's face, blinding him in one eye. Chloë admits that she and Eirik rob tourists, but insists she had told Eirik that Ray was not a target. As Chloë drives Eirik to the hospital, Ray pockets the gun and helps himself to a handful of live rounds as well as Chloë's stash of drugs. He and Ken spend a debauched night with the dwarf actor, Jimmy, who takes cocaine and rants about a coming war between blacks and whites. Harry calls Ken and reveals that the trip was an attempt to give Ray a good experience before he dies. He orders Ken to kill Ray, on the principle that killing a child, even accidentally, is unforgivable. With a handgun supplied by Harry's local contact Yuri, Ken tracks Ray to a park and reluctantly prepares to kill him. Ray, however, distraught at his killing of the boy, prepares to kill himself with Eirik's loaded gun. Seeing this, Ken stops Ray, informs him of Harry's order and tells him to leave Bruges to have a fresh start. He gives Ray some money and puts him on a train to another city, while confiscating his gun to prevent a further suicide attempt. Ken phones Harry to tell him the truth, and Harry immediately sets out for Bruges, furious at the insubordination. He picks up a gun and a box of dumdum bullets at Yuri's, and Eirik, Yuri's son, learns of his intention. Meanwhile, police stop Ray's train in the Belgian countryside; they detain Ray for attacking the Canadians and escort him back to Bruges. Chloë bails him out and the two share a drink on the market square beneath the Belfry of Bruges. Meanwhile, Harry spots Ken at a café. As the two have drinks, Harry boasts that if he himself had killed a child, he would have immediately taken his own life. Ken argues that Ray is trying to better himself and deserves a chance at redemption, but Harry is not convinced. Ken suggests they ascend the bell tower for a shootout away from bystanders. At the top, Ken says he accepts whatever punishment Harry intends. A conflicted Harry cannot bring himself to kill Ken, so he shoots him in the leg as punishment for not killing Ray. Eirik crosses the market square and sees Ray and Chloë on a date. He runs up the tower to inform Harry, who is helping Ken down the stairs. Ken tries to disarm Harry, but Harry shoots Ken in the neck before rushing down the tower. Bleeding heavily, Ken drags himself back to the top of the tower and jumps from it to reach Ray first. Ken warns Ray with his dying breath, but his gun is broken during the fall, forcing Ray back to the hotel to retrieve his own. Harry chases Ray to the hotel; Marie, the pregnant owner, refuses Harry entry, even when he draws his gun. To protect the owner and her unborn child, Harry and Ray agree to continue the chase on a nearby canal. Ray jumps onto a passing barge, but loses Eirik's gun. Harry wounds Ray with a shot from a distance. Ray stumbles into the street where Jimmy's film is shooting; Jimmy is costumed as a schoolboy. Harry catches up and repeatedly shoots Ray with the dumdum bullets. One of the bullets hits Jimmy, blowing his head open. Harry mistakenly believes that he has killed a child and, despite protest from Ray, kills himself. As Ray is loaded into an ambulance, he reflects on the nature of hell, speculating that it is an eternity in the city of Bruges, and hopes desperately that he does not die.

Elwood P. Dowd is an amiable but eccentric man whose best friend is an invisible, 6 ft 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 in-tall (1.92 m) white rabbit named Harvey. As described by Elwood, Harvey is a púca, a benign but mischievous creature from Celtic mythology. Elwood spends most of his time taking Harvey around town, drinking at various bars and introducing Harvey to almost everyone he meets, much to the puzzlement of strangers although Elwood's friends have accepted Harvey's (supposed) existence. His older sister Veta and his niece Myrtle Mae live with him in his large estate, but have become social outcasts along with Elwood due to his obsession with Harvey. After Elwood ruins a party Veta and Myrtle Mae arranged in secret, Veta finally tries to have him committed to a local sanatorium. In exasperation she admits to the attending psychiatrist, Dr. Sanderson, that she sees Harvey once in a while herself. Mistaking Veta for the real mental case, Sanderson has Elwood released and Veta locked up. Dr. Chumley, head of the sanatorium, discovers the mistake and realizes he must bring Elwood back, searching the town with Wilson, an orderly. With Veta's help, Chumley eventually tracks Elwood to his favorite bar, "Charlie's", and decides to confront him. Four hours later, Wilson returns to the sanatorium and learns from Sanderson and nurse Kelly that Chumley and Elwood had not returned. They all go to Charlie's and find Elwood alone; he explains that Chumley wandered off with Harvey after several rounds of drinks. As they converse, Elwood encourages Sanderson and Kelly to dance, rekindling their romantic relationship. Elwood eventually explains that he met Harvey one night several years ago after escorting a drunk friend to a taxi, and they had since enjoyed going to bars and socializing with other patrons to hear their grand life stories and aspirations. Convinced Elwood is insane and may have harmed Chumley, Wilson calls the police and has Elwood escorted back to the sanatorium. Chumley returns to the sanatorium disheveled and paranoid, and is followed by an invisible presence who opens and closes locked doors. When the others arrive, Chumley invites Elwood to his office. In private, Chumley says that he now knows Harvey is real, and Elwood explains Harvey's various powers, including his ability to stop time, send anyone to any destination for as long as they like, and then bring them back without a minute passing. Chumley expresses his fantasy to go to Akron with a beautiful woman for two weeks. Veta arrives with Judge Gaffney and Myrtle Mae, prepared to commit Elwood, but are convinced by Sanderson that an injection of a serum called Formula 977 will stop Elwood from "seeing the rabbit". As they prepare the injection, Veta tries to pay the cab driver but, emptying her purse, is unable to find her smaller coin purse. She interrupts the injection procedure and asks Elwood to pay the driver. Warmed by Elwood's kindness, the cab driver explains how he has driven many people to the sanatorium to receive the same formula, warning Veta that Elwood will soon become "a perfectly normal human being, and you know what stinkers they are." Veta is upset by this, and halts the injection; she then finds her coin purse, and realizes that Harvey had intervened to save her brother. Wilson and Myrtle Mae, who had met at Elwood's house, reveal that they have become a couple, and Elwood invites Wilson over for tomorrow night's dinner. Leaving the institute, Elwood sees Harvey on the porch swing. Harvey tells him that he has decided to stay and take Chumley on his fantasy trip to Akron. Dejected, Elwood walks out the gate, but when it is closed he sees Harvey coming back. The gate lever is then moved to the open position by an unseen force. Elwood happily says "Well, thank you, Harvey; I prefer you too", and they follow Veta and Myrtle Mae along the road and into the sunrise.

Shrek is an asocial ogre who loves the solitude of his swamp and enjoys fending off mobs and intruders. One day, his life is interrupted after he inadvertently saves a talkative Donkey from some soldiers, prompting Donkey to forcibly stay with him. Donkey is one of many fairy tale creatures that are being exiled by the dwarfish Lord Farquaad of Duloc to beautify his land. However, the creatures inadvertently end up in the swamp. Angered by the intrusion, Shrek resolves to visit Farquaad and demand that he move the creatures elsewhere, reluctantly allowing Donkey to accompany him as he is the only one who knows where Duloc is. Meanwhile, Farquaad asks a magic mirror if he has the most perfect kingdom; the mirror tells him he is not a king and would need to marry a princess in order to become one. Presented with three options, Farquaad chooses Princess Fiona, who is imprisoned in a castle guarded by a Dragon. Unwilling to rescue Fiona himself, he organizes a tournament, the winner receiving the "privilege" of rescuing her on his behalf. When Farquaad sees Shrek and Donkey in his castle, he announces that whoever kills Shrek will win the tournament; however, Shrek and Donkey defeat Farquaad's knights with relative ease. Amused, Farquaad proclaims Shrek his champion, and agrees to relocate the fairy tale creatures in exchange for Shrek rescuing Fiona. Shrek and Donkey travel to the castle and Dragon attacks them. Shrek locates Fiona, who is bewildered by his lack of romanticism; they flee the castle after rescuing Donkey from Dragon, who is revealed to be female and has fallen in love with him. When Shrek removes his helmet and reveals he is an ogre, Fiona stubbornly refuses to go to Duloc, demanding Farquaad arrive in person to save her, but Shrek carries Fiona against her will. That night, after setting up camp, and with Fiona alone in a cave, Shrek admits to Donkey that he is asocial because he grew frustrated over being constantly judged for his appearance. Fiona overhears this and becomes kinder to Shrek. The next day, Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men harass the three, but Fiona easily defeats them in physical combat. Shrek becomes impressed with Fiona, and they begin to fall in love. When the trio nears Duloc, Fiona takes shelter in a windmill for the evening. Donkey enters alone and discovers that Fiona has transformed into an ogress. She explains that during her childhood, she was cursed to transform into an ogress at night but retain her human form during the day. She tells Donkey that only "true love's first kiss" will break the spell and allow her to "take love's true form". Meanwhile, Shrek is about to confess his feelings to Fiona, when he overhears Fiona referring to herself as an "ugly beast". Thinking that she is talking about him, Shrek angrily leaves and returns the next morning with Farquaad. Confused and hurt by Shrek's abrupt hostility, Fiona reluctantly accepts Farquaad's marriage proposal and requests that they be married that day before sunset. Shrek dismisses Donkey and returns to his now vacated swamp, but quickly realizes that he feels miserable without Fiona. Donkey returns and lectures Shrek for jumping to conclusions and reveals that Fiona was not referring to him as an "ugly beast", although Donkey does not reveal Fiona's secret to Shrek. The two reconcile, and Donkey summons Dragon, whom he had reunited with earlier in the day. Shrek and Donkey ride Dragon to Duloc so they can stop the wedding. Shrek interrupts the ceremony just before it ends and expresses his feelings for Fiona. The sun sets, and Fiona transforms into an ogress in front of everyone. Disgusted and enraged, Farquaad orders Shrek to be executed and Fiona re-imprisoned, while he declares himself king. The two are saved when Dragon, ridden by Donkey, breaks in and devours Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona kiss, and Fiona's curse is broken; though she remains an ogress, Shrek reassures her that he still finds her beautiful. They marry in the swamp with the fairy tale creatures in attendance, then leave for their honeymoon.

The Brewster family of Brooklyn is descended from Mayflower settlers who "scalped the Indians " instead of the other way around, according to Mortimer Brewster. On Halloween day, Mortimer, a theater critic and author who has repeatedly denounced marriage as "an old-fashioned superstition", marries Elaine Harper, his neighbor and a minister's daughter. Before leaving for their Niagara Falls honeymoon, Elaine goes to her father's house to share the news of her marriage, while Mortimer informs his aunts, Abby and Martha, who raised him in the old family home. Mortimer's delusional younger brother, Teddy, who believes he is Theodore Roosevelt, resides with them. Frequently, while running upstairs, Teddy blows a bugle and yells "Charge!", imitating Roosevelt's 1898 charge up San Juan Hill. Searching for the notes for his next book, Mortimer finds a corpse hidden in the window seat. He assumes in horror that Teddy's delusions have led him to murder. Abby and Martha cheerfully confess to killing Mr. Hoskins, explaining that they minister to lonely old bachelors by ending their "suffering". They post a "Room for Rent" sign to attract a suitable subject for their "charity", then serve a glass of elderberry wine spiked with arsenic, strychnine, and cyanide. Including Mr. Hoskins, the aunts have murdered twelve men; the bodies are buried in the cellar by Teddy, who believes they are yellow fever victims at the Panama Canal. Teddy moves Mr. Hoskins from the window seat down to the cellar. To protect his aunts in case the bodies are discovered, Mortimer frantically leaves to file paperwork to have Teddy legally committed to the Happy Dale mental asylum. In Mortimer's absence, his older brother, Jonathan, arrives with his alcoholic accomplice, plastic surgeon Dr. Herman Einstein. Altered by Einstein while drunk, Jonathan's face resembles Boris Karloff 's Frankenstein appearance. Jonathan is a serial killer with a body count of twelve, fleeing from the police, and intending to dispose of his latest murder victim, Mr. Spenalzo. Shortly after Jonathan and Einstein hide Spenalzo's body in the window seat, Mortimer returns; discovering the corpse, he demands that the pair leave. However, the two criminals reveal they have found Mr. Hoskins' body in the cellar. Mortimer rushes out to obtain a second signature for Teddy's commitment papers. Learning his aunts' secret and mocked by Einstein for their equivalent victim tally, Jonathan determines to increase his body count by killing Mortimer. Meanwhile, Mortimer visits Elaine, expressing his reservations about their marriage due to his family's insanity. When Mortimer returns, Einstein offers him a chance to leave, distracting him while Jonathan takes Spenalzo to the cellar. Mortimer decries the stupidity of characters in plays who are aware that they are in a house with killers but fail to realize the danger. Sneaking up from behind, Jonathan ties up and gags Mortimer. While Jonathan and Einstein argue about killing Mortimer, Officer O'Hara arrives in response to complaints from neighbors regarding Teddy's bugle blasts. After Einstein claims that Mortimer is enacting a scene from a play, O'Hara excitedly recites the plot of the play he is writing. Jonathan prepares to kill O'Hara but is knocked out by Einstein. O'Hara's partners arrive looking for the overdue O'Hara; mistaking an imminent arrest, Jonathan discloses the thirteen bodies buried in the cellar. Lieutenant Rooney arrives looking for the errant officers; recognizing Jonathan from "Wanted" posters as an escapee from an Indiana mental asylum, he arrests Jonathan, discounting his claim. When Mr. Witherspoon comes to take Teddy to Happy Dale, Abby and Martha insist on joining him. Einstein flees after signing the aunts' commitment papers. After Mortimer signs the papers as next of kin, the aunts inform him that he is not actually a Brewster; his mother was the family cook and his father was a chef on a steamship. Ecstatic, Mortimer rushes to find Elaine, who is horrified after discovering the corpses in the cellar. Before Elaine can exclaim about the bodies in the presence of others, Mortimer silences her by kissing her and whisking her off on their honeymoon.

Filmmaker Martin "Marty" Di Bergi is filming a documentary about English rock band Spinal Tap 's 1982 United States concert tour to promote their new album, Smell the Glove. The band comprises childhood friends David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel on vocals and guitar, along with bassist Derek Smalls, keyboardist Viv Savage, and drummer Mick Shrimpton. The documentary shows Spinal Tap's early days as the skiffle group The Originals; they renamed themselves the New Originals when it was discovered another band was already called The Originals, only to change it back when the original Originals changed their name to The Regulars. They later had a hit as the Thamesmen, "Gimme Some Money", before changing their name to Spinal Tap and achieving a hit with the flower power anthem "Listen to the Flower People"; they subsequently began performing heavy metal. Several of the band's previous drummers died under strange circumstances: John "Stumpy" Pepys died in a "bizarre gardening accident" that police said was better left unsolved, Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs died choking on someone else's vomit, and Peter "James" Bond exploded on stage. Nigel shows Marty his extensive guitar collection (including a Fender Bass VI so valuable it cannot even be looked at), as well as a custom-made amplifier with volume knobs that go up to eleven; Nigel claims that this makes the amplifier "one louder" than most others, on which the volume setting only goes up to "ten". Tensions rise between the band and their manager, Ian Faith, as several shows are canceled due to low ticket sales and major retailers refuse to sell Smell the Glove because of its sexist cover art. David's girlfriend Jeanine, a yoga and astrology devotee, joins the group on tour and participates in band meetings. Nigel and Ian dislike Jeanine's ideas for Spinal Tap's costumes and stage presentation. Without consulting the band, the band's record label releases Smell the Glove with an entirely black album cover. Despite Ian's assertion that it could have a similar appeal to the Beatles ' White Album, Smell the Glove fails to sell. Nigel suggests staging a lavish, Druid -themed stage show and asks Ian to order a replica Stonehenge trilithon. However, Nigel mislabels its dimensions, and the resulting prop is only 18 inches (46 cm) high rather than 18 feet (5.5 m), making the group a laughing stock. The group blames Ian, and when David suggests Jeanine should co-manage the group, Ian quits. The tour continues, rescheduled for much smaller venues, and Jeanine and David increasingly marginalize Nigel. At a gig at a United States Air Force base, Nigel is upset by an equipment malfunction and quits mid-performance. At their next gig, in an amphitheater at an amusement park where the band is billed below a puppet show, the band finds their repertoire is severely limited without Nigel. At Derek's suggestion, the band improvises an experimental "Jazz Odyssey", which is poorly received. On the last day of the tour, David and Derek consider ending Spinal Tap and exploring other projects, such as a musical about Jack the Ripper called Saucy Jack. Before they go on stage, Nigel arrives and tells them that Spinal Tap's song "Sex Farm" has become a major hit in Japan and that Ian wants to arrange a tour there. David bitterly refuses; later, however, as Nigel watches the band's performance from backstage, David relents and invites him onstage, delighting the crowd but infuriating Jeanine. Mick subsequently explodes on stage. Ian is rehired as the group's manager, and Spinal Tap (now with Joe "Mama" Besser as their drummer) performs a series of sold-out shows in Japan.

Two months before his graduation, high school senior Ferris Bueller fakes illness to stay home from school, regularly breaking the fourth wall to describe his senioritis. While his sister Jeanie sees through the ruse, he fools their parents, Katie and Tom. After learning Ferris has been absent nine times that semester, the school's dean, Edward R. Rooney, and his secretary Grace become determined to expose Ferris's chronic truancy. Ferris hacks into the school's computer system and reduces his absence count to two, making it appear that he attends school regularly. To excuse Ferris's girlfriend Sloane Peterson from school, he persuades his hypochondriac best friend Cameron Frye to impersonate Sloane's father and call the school with claims that her grandmother died. Knowing Sloane is dating Ferris, Rooney feels suspicious and responds dismissively. Ferris simultaneously calls the school to confirm his absence, fooling Rooney into believing he offended Sloane's father. When picking up Sloane, Ferris disguises himself as her father and borrows the prized possession of Cameron's father, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder. However, Rooney becomes suspicious upon seeing Sloane kiss Ferris. Fearing his father's wrath, Cameron becomes paranoid when Ferris takes the car on a day trip into Chicago, even with assurances of preserving its condition and original odometer mileage. Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane leave the car with two parking attendants, who promptly take it on a long joyride. The three visit the Sears Tower observatory, eat lunch at an upscale restaurant, visit the Chicago Stock Exchange and the Art Institute of Chicago, go to a Chicago Cubs baseball game, and attend the Von Steuben Day Parade, where Ferris jumps on a float and lip syncs to " Danke Schoen " by Wayne Newton and " Twist and Shout " by the Beatles. They manage to hide from his father, who works in the city. Meanwhile, Rooney prowls the Bueller home for Ferris, becoming victim to some pratfalls and pursued by the family's pet Rottweiler. When Jeanie skips class and returns home to confront Ferris, she discovers a dummy in his bed, and finds Rooney there. Mistaking him for a burglar, she knocks him unconscious by kicking him in the face and calls the police. Rooney regains consciousness and leaves the house upon noticing his car being towed. The police arrest Jeanie, believing she prank called the police station. While detained, she befriends a young delinquent who advises her to worry less about Ferris's exploits and more about her own life. Upon collecting the Ferrari and heading home, Ferris and Cameron discover that the car's mileage has significantly increased. Cameron enters semi-catatonic shock, later almost drowning in a pool before a worried Ferris helps him. At Cameron's house, Ferris jacks up the car and puts it in reverse gear to unsuccessfully attempt to rewind the odometer. Angry toward his domineering father, Cameron kicks the car's bumper until the jacks collapse and it crashes backward through the garage wall, suffering severe damage. Ferris offers to take the blame, but Cameron declines and insists on standing up to his father. After walking Sloane home, Ferris runs through the neighborhood to return home before his family does. He is nearly hit by Jeanie's car as she and Katie drive home from the police station. Ferris escapes Katie's notice, but Jeanie spots him and tries to beat him home, only to be pulled over and given a speeding ticket. Ferris arrives home first, but Rooney confronts him before he can return indoors. Seeing both of them through the window, Jeanie has a change of heart and allows Ferris to come inside before their parents do, claiming that he was at the hospital for his illness. She also shows Rooney his wallet that had fallen from his pocket in the kitchen earlier, tosses it into a nearby puddle, and shuts the back door loud enough to wake up the Rottweiler, who attacks and chases Rooney away. Upon seeing Ferris in bed, Katie and Tom believe he has been home all day. Meanwhile, a humiliated Rooney reluctantly accepts a ride on a school bus filled with students who act derisively toward him.