The narrator recounts three instances of incredible coincidences and
suggests that forces greater than chance play important roles in life.
Police officer Jim Kurring investigates a disturbance at a woman's
apartment, finding a body in a closet. Dixon, a neighborhood boy, tries
to tell him who committed the murder but Jim is dismissive. Jim goes to
the apartment of Claudia Wilson. Claudia's neighbors called the police
after she had an argument with her estranged father, children's game
show host Jimmy Gator, and then blasted music while snorting cocaine. Unaware of her addiction, Jim is attracted to her and prolongs the visit. He asks her on a date that night; she says yes.
Jimmy hosts a long-running quiz show called What Do Kids Know? and is dying of cancer; he has only a few months to live. That night the newest child prodigy on What Do Kids Know?,
Stanley Spector, takes the lead as the show begins. He is hounded by
his father for the prize money and demeaned by the surrounding adults,
who refuse to let him use the bathroom during a commercial break. When
the show resumes, he wets himself and freezes, humiliated when everyone
realizes what happened. As the show continues an inebriated Jimmy
sickens, and he orders the show to go on after he collapses onstage. But
after Stanley's father berates him for freezing on air, Stanley refuses
to return for the final round.
Donnie Smith, a former What Do Kids Know? champion, watches
the show from a bar. Donnie's parents spent the money he won as a child,
and he has been fired from his job at Solomon & Solomon, an
electronics store, due to chronic lateness and poor sales. He is
obsessed with getting oral surgery,
thinking he will land the man of his dreams after he gets braces. He
hatches a plan to get back at his boss by stealing the money he needs
for his braces.
The show's former producer, Earl Partridge, is also dying of cancer. Earl's trophy wife, Linda, collects his prescriptions for morphine
while he is cared for by a nurse, Phil Parma. Earl asks Phil to find
his estranged son, Frank Mackey, a motivational speaker peddling a pick-up artist self-help
course to men. Frank is in the midst of an interview with a journalist
who reveals that she knows Frank had to take care of his dying mother
after Earl abandoned the family. An angry Frank storms out of the
interview when Phil gets through to him.
Linda goes to see Earl's lawyer, begging him to change Earl's will.
She admits she married Earl for his money, but now loves him and does
not want it. The lawyer suggests she renounce the will and refuse the
money, which would go to Frank. Linda rejects his advice and leaves in a
rage. Linda berates Phil for seeking out Frank, but later apologizes.
She drives to a vacant parking lot and washes down handfuls of
prescription medicine with alcohol. Dixon finds Linda in her car, near
death, and calls an ambulance after taking money from her purse.
Before his date with Claudia, Jim takes fire during a pursuit and
loses his gun. When he meets Claudia they promise to be honest with each
other, so he confesses his ineptitude as a cop and admits he has not
been on a date since he was divorced three years earlier. Claudia says
he will hate her because of her problems, but Jim assures her that her
past does not matter. They kiss, but she runs off.
Jimmy Gator goes home to his wife Rose and confesses that he cheated
on her. She asks why Claudia does not talk to him, and Jimmy admits that
Claudia believes he molested
her. Rose demands to know if it is true, but Jimmy says he cannot
remember whether he abused Claudia. Rose tells Jimmy he deserves to die
alone, and she walks out on him. Jimmy decides to kill himself.
Donnie takes money from the Solomon & Solomon safe. As he drives
away, he decides to return the money, but discovers he cannot get back
in as his key broke off in the lock. While climbing a utility pole to
get on the roof, he is seen by a passing Jim. Suddenly, frogs begin falling from the sky,
with multiple consequences: as Jimmy is about to shoot himself, frogs
fall through his skylight, causing him to shoot the TV which sets his
house on fire; Rose crashes her car in front of Claudia's apartment, but
makes it inside and reconciles with her daughter; Earl dies as Frank
watches the frogs; Linda's ambulance crashes in front of the emergency
room; and, Donnie is knocked from the pole and smashes his teeth, then
is dragged to safety by Jim.
Jim counsels Donnie and helps him return the money; his gun falls
from the sky. Frank goes to the hospital to be with Linda, who will
recover from her attempted suicide. Stanley, on his way to bed, tells
his father that he needs to be nicer to him, though his father simply
tells him to go to bed. Jim goes to see Claudia, telling her he wants to
make things work between them; she smiles in reply.
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