After the gallery's sentimental chairman prevents the board of directors, who despise Bean for his laziness, from firing him, the board instead opts to send Bean on a three-month sabbatical to serve as their representative at an unveiling ceremony of the painting Whistler's Mother, which has been purchased by the Grierson Art Gallery in Los Angeles from the Musée d'Orsay.

After Bean gets arrested for causing a panic at the airport when he pretends to draw a gun and accidentally destroys the family's prized possessions, David's wife, Alison, leaves for her mother's house along with their children, Kevin and Jennifer.

Fearing the loss of his job and potential criminal charges over the damage, David becomes despondent and gets drunk with Bean, though his family returns out of pity.

Determined to save David's career, Bean sneaks back into the gallery that night, where he incapacitates the security guard with laxatives and replaces the damaged Whistler's Mother with a life-sized poster coated in egg whites and nail polish to resemble the real one, which successfully fools everyone at the ceremony the next day.

Bean is mistaken for a medical doctor and forced into an operating room, where he encounters Brutus, who had been shot while dealing with a mugging on the way to the hospital and inadvertently saves his life by removing the bullet from his body with only his hand.

David then begs Bean, unaware of his true identity, to wake Jennifer up from her unconscious state, which he succeeds in after an accident with a defibrillator sends him flying and landing on top of her.

Grateful for having their daughter back and wondering how to repay their doctor, David and Alison are surprised when Bean reveals his face.

At home, Bean decorates his bedroom with photographs of his time in Los Angeles, as well as the original Whistler's Mother painting he smuggled back with him.

[19] Upon its release in the United States on 7 November 1997, the film grossed $12,733,827 in its opening weekend while playing in 1,948 theaters, with a $6,536 per-theater average and ranking second behind Starship Troopers.

The site's critical consensus reads: "Bean boasts a terrifically talented physical comedian in the title role, but his constant mugging and silly slapstick quickly wear thin.