The film stars comedian Andrew Dice Clay as the title character, Ford Fairlane, a "Rock n' Roll Detective",[5] whose beat is the music industry in Los Angeles.

A flashback initiates, showing a roaring crowd at a concert[8] at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, given by fictional popular heavy metal band, "The Black Plague".

Lead singer Bobby Black makes an eccentric entrance down a zip line from Creation Rock onto the stage and begins performing.

"The World's Hippest Detective" soon finds himself trading insults with a group, including ruthless record executive Julian Grendel, former-disco-star-turned-clueless-cop Lt. Amos, merciless hit man Smiley, and countless ex-girlfriends out for his blood.

Aiding and abetting Fairlane is loyal assistant Jazz and a hip record producer at the head of a bizarre lineup of suspects, victims, beautiful women, and a koala as he finds himself hip-deep in the case of his life.

The MacGuffin of the film is three data CDs which -- when read simultaneously -- detail the illegal dealings of Julian Grendel, who profits handsomely from bootlegging his record company's music.

Two of Fairlane's beloved possessions, his house and his car, are blown to bits, courtesy of Grendel, and he sacrifices his prized guitar (a custom design for the original owner, Jimi Hendrix) in a fight with Smiley.

The members of the fictional band Black Plague are played by professional musicians: Vince Neil, lead singer of Mötley Crüe; Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo; and Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo.

[20] The film was not a financial success during its original theatrical release, making just over $21 million in the U.S.[3] According to Clay, "They pulled my movie...in a week...I was a lightning rod for everything [politically correct]".