- An ungrounded young mother and her thoughtful teenage son are banished to a remote provincial town by her domineering father.
- It's 1963. Poor little rich girl Lydia and her 14-year-old love-child Sam are banished from North Carolina while her powerful father runs for governor. They end up in Wyoming where she parties and Sam finds he's one of only two Grosvant High School students who read. Maurey is the other, a pre-pubescent girl wanting to discover what sex is about. She and Sam set out to learn with help from Lydia, who tells them it stops when Maurey has her first period. Trouble is, pregnancy comes first. In this small town, what can Maurey do, and will Sam have any say? Meantime, Hank Elkrunner, a Blackfoot, falls for the feckless Lydia, while her dictatorial dad keeps tabs on them all from afar.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
- The film starts in 1963, with liberal-minded Lydia (Jennifer Leigh), and her 14-year-old son Sam (Bug Hall). Lydia's father Casper Callahan (R. Lee Ermey) is running for governor of North Carolina, and he does not want Lydia and Sam in his way, so the two are banished from North Carolina. Arriving in Wyoming, Lydia only wants to have a good time and Sam is never allowed to call her "Mom" (she wants him to call her "Lydia").
Lydia decides to break away from her usual habits & start a new life in Wyoming. Lydia's liberal ways cause quite a stir in small town Grovant, Wyoming. Sam soon finds out that he is one of only two students in Grovant High School who can read. Sam is the only one who seems to ask questions during class and challenges the opinion of the teachers, while the others are simply OK to memorize whatever is taught in class. The other one is Maurey (Mischa Barton), a girl at the same age as Sam who wants to learn about sex. Maurey is Sam's neighbor. Maurey's mother Laurabel takes a welcome basket for Lydia, but Lydia is offended at being typecast as a housewife and shuts the door on Laurabel's face. Lydia is a scandal in a largely conservative town. All the single men lust after Lydia, who is bored with the same old, wants to try "something new".
Maurey and Sam don't get along at first but are united in their grief when President Kennedy is shot in Texas. Both are also bullied in school by the players of the school football team & which brings them even closer together.
Lydia picks up a local Indian man, Blackfeet named Hank, to come and live with them as she knows that her father cannot stand Indians. Lydia starts having sex with Hank and then starts to frequent the local bars and saloons & frequently gets drunk.
Maurey is frustrated that nobody would satisfy her curiosity on the subject of sex. While Lydia is too open about sex with Sam, but Maurey is told that the topic of sex cannot be spoken about openly. When Sam has a wet dream, Lydia is only too happy to sit him down and explain the process to him. Maurey and Sam try to have sex, but just don't know what goes where. Maurey holds Sam's penis in her hands, and he ejaculates, which grosses her out. They reach out to Lydia, who tells them the anatomy of sex & gets them to try again and again till they get it right.
Maurey dabbles with the hockey team jock, while Sam spends time with Bible thumping Chuckette Morris (Alison Pill). Sam and Chuckette share a few kisses, and when Sam says that he doesn't love her, she feels that she has been taken advantage of. Consequent to Maurey and Sam's mutual discoveries, Maurey becomes pregnant. Maurey decides to have an abortion in a distant hospital, and by accident, runs into her mother Laurabel (Peggy Lipton) and the baseball coach who is also there with the same intent.
Hank admonishes Lydia for teaching sex games to Sam & Maurey when they were only 14. He places the blame of Maurey's pregnancy squarely on Lydia, who allowed this to happen on her watch.
Maurey moves to Lydia's and Sam's house, since her father banishes her from his house. Meanwhile, Hank Elkrunner (Michael Greyeyes), a Blackfoot, falls for the feckless Lydia, while her dictatorial dad keeps tabs on them all from afar.
In the end, Maurey decides not to have an abortion and keeps the baby, a little girl named Shannon. After being threatened to be financially cut off unless she breaks up with Hank, and lets Sam go to Military School, Lydia decides to stay with Hank, and takes a job at the local diner. In addition, Hank sells his trailer and moves in with Sam and Lydia, along with Maurey and Shannon who decide to permanently move in. The film ends with Sam finishing the flashback for the story, with Shannon nearby.
Throughout the movie, Sam has many dream fantasies which star Drew Barrymore as the subject of his fantasies.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content