[2] It's Halloween, and New England contractor Wiley Boon, married to his high school sweetheart Sandra and the father of three children, feels smothered after fifteen years of the same routine and is facing a midlife crisis.

During Thanksgiving dinner, Wiley and Sandra have a minor disagreement that prompts him to leave his family and move into a mobile home to sort through his feelings of emotional unrest.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times thought "the rapport between the film's four principals is so well established that its romantic quadrille about the various ups and downs of two humorously contrasting couples really does come to life."

He felt the screenplay "seems to meander in whatever direction the filmmakers thought they could find an inspiration" but added, "And yet the film is not without merit.

"[4] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post described the film as "thirtysomething in needlepoint" and commented, "With its comfortable characters and small-town setting, it's as homey as hash – almost as if the director just threw it together like a housewife with unexpected company.