| Director | Randall Miller |
|---|---|
| Budget | $10.5 million |
| Box office | $26.3 million |
Kevin Franklin is an inner city Pittsburgh native. Raised in an orphanage, he has delusions of grandeur, and talks about getting rich and driving a Porsche one day. Twenty-five years later, he drives a rusted MG Midget and all his ambitions revolve around a series of ill fated get-rich-quick schemes. A handshake loan of $5,000 from loan sharks grows to $50,000 through interest and penalties, resulting in him trying to skip town at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Kevin overhears a conversation between lawyer Gary Young and his three children as they are waiting to pick up his childhood friend, Derek Bond, who is now a successful, strait-laced and vegetarian dentist. Upon hearing him say that he has not seen Derek in twenty five years and does not know what he looks like, Kevin gives his baseball cap to the real Derek to throw off the two dimwitted mobsters chasing him and poses as Derek to the Youngs, who take him to their posh home in Sewickley.
Although he knows nothing about dentistry, Kevin still manages to convince those around him that he is in fact Derek Bond, and his affable personality makes him popular with Gary's otherwise stuffy and rich associates. Gary has little time for his family. His wife, Emily, runs a chain of successful new frozen yogurt businesses, which gradually builds a gap between them, largely due to the demands of his bigoted, arrogant boss at the law firm where he works, and the fact that their clients are a rival yogurt company that is Emily's competition. This leads to Kevin developing a bond with Gary's Goth daughter, Brooke, helping her stand up to her cheating boyfriend, and his young son, Jason, who has aspirations of playing pro basketball. Gary eventually stands up to his boss with Kevin's support and quits the firm to be with his family.
Meanwhile, the mobsters threaten Kevin's best friend, Larry, into revealing his whereabouts, and Kevin asks him to pick him up. After he does so reluctantly, he sparks an argument with him over his lack of appreciation of friendship, causing him to realize that Gary has been his friend all along. He returns to the Youngs' house only to find that the mobsters have taken them hostage, and his true identity is revealed when the real Derek Bond finally shows up.
After the mobsters take Kevin away, he manages to escape, losing them in a charity marathon, where he meets up with Gary, who graciously decides to help him despite his charade, in return for helping bring his family closer together. Kevin reveals that he has an instant lottery ticket he purchased the previous day for a chance at a $1 million cash prize spin on a Saturday night television show, which he reluctantly gives up to the mobsters in exchange for the forgiveness of his debt.
The film fast forwards to wintertime, Kevin parallel parks a shiny new red Porsche with Larry in tow, in front of the Youngs' house, appearing for a promotional party for his new best-seller book, Handbook for Houseguests, based on his experiences with them. The partygoers gather in front of the television to watch the mobsters spin the wheel for the jackpot.
It initially lands on the million dollar jackpot, but then falls and lands on $5,000, much to the mafia don's dismay and Kevin's delight. During the closing credits, Gary and Kevin sing a medley of food based parodies of Christmas songs, as they cook a barbecue in the Youngs' backyard outside of a Christmas party.