MEDIUM SYNOPSIS.
Two down and out friends, living in Venice, California, struggle in social and economic deprivation as they watch their neighborhood transform into a place where they can no longer afford to live.
Jack Kelly loses his job to out-sourcing, ducks bill collectors and finds out his girlfriend is pregnant. In a last ditch attempt to solve all of his problems he hatches a plan to have his long time friend, Joey Flanagan, get bitten by a rat. The get-rich-quick scheme is set to go down in a major supermarket with the hopes of winning a huge settlement. But Joey is skeptical and fears the idea of being bitten.
Jack plies Joey, an innocent, prone to delusions, convincing him of how rich and powerful he will become once they pull off 'the thing'. Joey warms to the idea but his doubts and fears keep getting the best of him. Jack struggles to keep Joey focused on the prize. The two argue constantly about the details of the plan. Joey finally buys into Jack's angle, but Jack has to constantly rein in Joey’s grandiose behavior and loose lips.
Jack is under the constant pressure of his pregnant girlfriend, Irene, who rightly suspects that Jack and Joey are up to something.
Joey falls head over heels for Barbara Jean, a manic-depressive suicidal type that becomes quickly transformed and joyfully enamored by Joey's innocence and unintended humor. Jack desperately starts to train the rat as he hopes against hope that the scheme will somehow miraculously succeed before Joey blows it by spilling the beans to Barbara Jean.
What transpires is a perfect example of “the best laid plans of mice and men” where reality trumps delusion and, in one comic turn after another, depravity gives way to humanity.
