A struggling musician takes an overnight long-distance drive in order to fight his estranged wife for custody of their young daughter.

A guy falls for the daughter of a family friend, making life just a bit awkward for himself and the family.

The story of Eli Smith (Jesse Eisenberg), a piano prodigy, dealing with his troubled mother, Penny (Melissa Leo), and enlisting help from a hapless drug dealer, Sprinkles (Tracy Morgan), on the day he has an audition for a prestigious music program. Events spiral comically out of control as this gang of misfits faces the mistakes of the past, the challenges of the future, and the possibilities of love.

Mother and daughter, Beth and Grace, find a bedraggled dog on the side of the freeway. Taking it home and rescuing it, the dog helps Grace meet a man. But Beth's husband, Joseph, hates the dog and just might cause even more friction in their marriage. While at their remote cabin for a weekend wedding with family, Joseph loses the dog and Beth isn't going home until they find it. With help from their nephew, Joseph's sister, her new boyfriend, and their psychic gypsy maid, the family search high and low for the missing dog and in the process find that they also need to mend their own relationships.

Disenchanted by the church and his devout Christian mother, 19 year-old Donald escapes Texas for the liberal Northwest and attends Reed College at the urging of his secular father. At Reed College, Don finds that his classmates, from all walks of life, are more anti-religious and anti-everything than he was prepared for. In an attempt to fit in, and more importantly, in an attempt to find himself, Don joins an activist group which forces him to question what he really believes in.