He is having an affair with Carmen, the live-in maid, while Barbara tries to relieve her constant feelings of anxiety through shopping and experimenting with various New Age therapies.

Their teenage son, Max, has a strained relationship with his parents, communicates with them largely through his avant-garde videos, and is having issues around his gender presentation.

Jerry Baskin, a down-and-out homeless man, attempts to drown himself in the Whitemans' pool, driven to despair by the loss of his own dog.

At an extravagant party thrown by the Whitemans, Jenny tells Dave she has overcome her apparent anorexia and declares herself deeply in love with him.

The website's critics consensus reads, "An enjoyable farce that relocates Jean Renoir's Boudu Saved From Drowning to '80s California, offering fine comedic performances from Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler.

But as a comedy of manners it has a dependably keen aim, with its most wicked barbs leavened by Mr. Mazursky's obvious fondness for his characters.

"[11] Sheila Benson's review in the Los Angeles Times called it "depth-charge comedy"; however, she had reservations on the outcome of Nick Nolte's character.

While the soundtrack omits the song, the opening and closing credits feature a remix of "Once in a Lifetime" from the 1984 Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense.