Franco plays a character who was an actor in a soap opera prior to the events in the film.

The character's history led the director Carter to encourage Franco to acquire a role in a soap opera in real life.

[2][3] Franco would ultimately use a great deal of the General Hospital footage as part of another experimental film, Francophenia.

[4] The film follows the foibles of its four main characters as they seek to resolve "maladies" that make it difficult for them to relate with one another and cope with themselves.

NPR mocked claims from Franco and Carter that the movie is a performance art piece and said Maladies is a "firehose".