A struggling comedy writer, fresh off a breakup and in the midst of the worst year of his life, returns to Sacramento to care for his dying mother.

Desperate to help her ailing brother, a young woman unknowingly agrees to compete in a deadly game of "Would You Rather," hosted by a sadistic aristocrat.

Corporate real estate tycoon Hamilton Lux sets his sights on developing the quaint seaside town of Full Moon Bay into a prime getaway for the wealthy, but runs into some unexpected problems. Lifelong fisherman Daniel Wilder owns property exactly where Lux wants to build high-priced condos, and isn't planning to sell. Lux secretly laces the local waters with a toxin deadly to marine life, decimating the fishing industry in an attempt to starve Daniel out. Alas the chemical react differently on the area's sharks, drastically increasing their aggressive tendencies and transforming them into engines of pure destruction moving in coordinated swarms. Without fish to feed on, shark attacks on humans rapidly increase. Lux uses media contacts to paint the attacks as random incidents. Daniel, his marine biologist brother and a concerned E.P.A. agent must expose Lux's plan and rid the area of the chemically-altered sharks before the town's entire population is devoured by hungry sharks.

Close to the entrance to Death Valley is the God-forsaken town of Trona. It's nearly empty: dry, with polluted water and poisoned soil. Dilapidated houses hold slackers and stoners. The town is virtually owned by Dirk, a heartless young meth dealer. In the midst of this lives Ray Tuckby, a naïf, unhappily married with a slothful son. The highlight of Ray's day is chatting with Nora, a clerk at the market. When Ray comes home early from work and finds his wife in bed with his brother, a few things start to change. Then he meets Merl, who's putting in a Chevron station, and Merl encourages Ray to dream. Can he? A recipe for meringue may hold one of the keys.

A spoiled Manhattan housewife re-evaluates her life after visiting a Chinatown healer.

A US president (Gene Hackman) who has retired after two terms in office returns to his hometown of Mooseport, Maine and decides to run for Mayor against another local candidate (Ray Romano).