Manhattan explores how the life of a middle-aged television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.
Heiress Nancy Crocker Fleming will only receive her inheritance if she marries a "plain American." Her late father was afraid a foreign gigolo would steal her heart and money. So Nancy pays Tony Anthony, working on a WPA road project, to marry, then divorce her. When Nancy inadvertently drives off with Tony's dog, Tony seemingly kidnaps her to retrieve the pooch, which leads to a cross-country race between the two to reach Reno and the divorce court since neither one wants to be the second to file papers.
Pontus is divorced and has custody of his children every other week while living life as a bachelor the rest of the time. His older brother, Jens, is married since 20 years and has three children. When Jens' marriage collapses, he moves in with his younger brother - a move which will change both of their lives radically.
Upon discovering her husband's infidelity, Sandy leaves the suburbs and moves into the city. There, she befriends Aram, a guy whose wife only married him so she could get a green card. Sandy hires Aram to be her nanny, and it isn't long until Aram and Sandy find out they get along wonderfully and start to date. But is their relationship real or is it, in fact, just a rebound for both of them?
Three middle-aged wealthy couples take vacations together in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Along the way we are treated to mid-life, marital, parental and other crises.
Jackie is a divorced mother of two. Isabel is the career minded girlfriend of Jackie’s ex-husband Luke, forced into the role of unwelcome stepmother to their children. But when Jackie discovers she is ill, both women realise they must put aside their differences to find a common ground and celebrate life to the fullest, while they have the chance.
1986 - The protest movement against the construction of the nuclear power plant in Brokdorf is on its last legs. Only one rural commune remains: the "Alternative Wohnkollektiv Regenbogen". For them, it could go on and on with endless consensus discussions, shearing sheep and naked communal bathing. One day, the lowland communards are joined by two city dwellers, Hanne and her son Niels. While Hanne gets used to scream therapy and raising vegetables surprisingly quickly - and even more quickly to the tantra games with commune guru Peter - Niels has less and less desire for the dogmatic commune rules. Out of defiance, he joins the violent nuclear power plant resistance, thus upsetting the tranquil chaos of the commune. The big bang, however, comes when a reactor explodes in distant Chernobyl. Exactly on the day Bobby Ewing dies, the petroleum prince from "Dallas" and series favorite of the commune.
During the course of an ordinary week in Hollywood, movie producer Ben must navigate his way through shark-infested waters as he struggles to complete his latest projects. A demanding studio boss demands extensive changes to a movie starring Sean Penn, while another chief won't greenlight a project unless star Bruce Willis shaves his beard. Meanwhile, Ben tries to reconcile with his wife and maintain a relationship with his young daughter.
As she reaches her mid-thirties and quits her lucrative job, singleton Olivia finds herself unsure about her future and her relationships with her successful and wealthy friends. She begins to envy the security of her richer friends and, although their lives may seem easier, Olivia's friends have their problems too: screenwriters Christine and Patrick are unable to collaborate on their latest project, Jane and Aaron have lost the romance in their relationship, and Franny and Matt have difficulties handling the demands of parenthood.
Uptight lawyer Peter Sanderson wants to dive back into dating after his divorce and has a hard time meeting the right women. He tries online dating and lucks out when he starts chatting with a fellow lawyer. The two agree to meet in the flesh, but the woman he meets — an escaped African-American convict named Charlene — is not what he expected. Peter is freaked out, but Charlene tries to convince him to take her case and prove her innocence. Along the way, she wreaks havoc on his middle-class life as he gets a lesson in learning to lighten up.
A New York girl sets her father up with a beautiful woman in a shaky marriage while her half sister gets engaged.
The fastest man on four wheels, Ricky Bobby is one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. A big, hairy American winning machine, Ricky has everything a dimwitted daredevil could want, a luxurious mansion, a smokin' hot wife and all the fast food he can eat. But Ricky's turbo-charged lifestyle hits an unexpected speed bump when he's bested by flamboyant Euro-idiot Jean Girard and reduced to a fear-ridden wreck.
Marion is about to divorce from her husband and takes her 15-year-old niece, Pauline, on a vacation to Granville. There, she meets an old love...
When his parents announce their divorce, ten-year-old Neil believes he's stuck in a dream and sets out on a mission to wake up.
Hard-drinking novelist Zach Hutton spirals out of control after his wife and mistress both leave him. Alone and crippled by a bad case of writer's block, Zach slips in and out of casual relationships and one-night stands, while his drinking becomes more and more severe. With the help of a bartender and his therapist, Zach confronts his demons — women and alcohol.
An aristocrat tries to prevent her sister's divorce by attempting to recover a diamond necklace, which is being used as incriminating evidence against her.
A once successful P.R. Specialist deals with the trials and tribulations of managing a local grocery store known as "The Yellow Bird" while struggling with his loveless marriage, an unhappy stepdaughter and his own sobriety.
Michael Morda, a young sculptor living in San Francisco, is madly in love with Elinor Hunter, and they plan to be married. When Elinor becomes jealous of Julie Stressman, an old friend of Michael's and one of his models, Michael reluctantly asks Julie not to visit him at his studio. They agree to meet only at the construction site where he is working on a sculpture for which Julie is modeling. When Elinor also shows up at the site, Julie leaves so as to avoid a confrontation, but she is killed by some falling materials. Julie's dying request is that Michael adopt her daughter Mitzi, whose father died years earlier. In order to prevent Mitzi from being taken to an orphanage, Michael lies and says he is her father. Elinor hears this, and without asking questions, leaves him and marries another man the same night.
By accident, Mike gets the deal of his life. A rich managing director instructs him to seduce his unfaithful wife to give him a reason for divorce.
When Sara is served divorce papers while she is in New York, she is stunned. Not about to lose the fortune she amassed with her self-serving Texan husband, she makes an offer to her process server, Joe, that sets them off on a wild trip across the country.