| Director | John Pasquin |
|---|---|
| Budget | $38 million |
| Box office | $24.5 million |
Joe Scheffer is a recently divorced single parent, and a talented audio/visual specialist at STARKe Pharmaceuticals. One day Joe pulls into the parking lot at work, accompanied by his young daughter Natalie, to find his co-worker Mark McKinney parking in a spot that has been reserved for those who have worked for the company for ten years. However, McKinney has only worked there for seven years. When McKinney is confronted by Joe about this, he assaults Joe in front of Natalie.
Joe falls into a state of self-pity until Meg Harper, the Wellness Coordinator at STARKe, accidentally ignites a fuse in him when, in a fit of frustration, she asks Joe, "What do you want?" Joe is suddenly stirred to action by this question, and decides he wants a rematch to reclaim his dignity and self-respect, which he felt McKinney took from him.
After issuing the challenge to McKinney (who has been temporarily suspended), Joe begins to find himself becoming very popular around the office for his bravery. Meg and Natalie, however, do not feel fighting McKinney will solve anything, and both attempt to tell Joe as much, to no avail. Joe seeks out the aid of an ex B movie star-turned-martial arts instructor named Chuck Scarett to teach him to defend himself. Things seem to finally be going right for Joe, as he has begun to see Meg and has even been given a promotion at work he had been hoping for.
When Meg realizes Jeremy, a colleague she works closely with for the company (who also happens to be attracted to her), only gave Joe a non-existing position at the office to prevent him from suing the company, she resigns in fear that she might one day have to demote or even fire Joe. Meg again tries to persuade Joe not to fight McKinney, and finally gives him an ultimatum: if he does not call off the fight with McKinney, their relationship is over.
The day of the fight, Joe makes his way to the way to the school where the brawl is to take place. However, he ultimately realizes he doesn't need to fight to prove his self worth to himself or anybody else, and it is not worth the price he would have to pay. When Joe tells McKinney and his other co-workers the fight is off, McKinney offers him an apology, which Joe accepts. Joe then goes and reconciles with Meg.