| Director | Rob Reiner |
|---|---|
| Budget | $70 million |
| Box office | $88.9 million |
In 1997, Sarah Huttinger, an obituary and wedding announcement writer for The New York Times, returns to her hometown of Pasadena, California, for her younger sister Annie's wedding, accompanied by her fiancé, lawyer Jeff Daly. There, she tells her grandmother Katharine Richelieu that she is unsure about getting married. Katharine then lets slip that her late daughter, Sarah's mother Jocelyn, ran off to Cabo San Lucas a week before her own wedding.
Sarah visits her mother's best friend Aunt Mitsy, who confirms that Jocelyn spent time with their prep school classmate Beau Burroughs the week before her wedding to Sarah's father Earl. She mentions that Beau was also friends with Charles Webb, the author of the novel The Graduate.
Jeff points out Sarah's parents were married just short of nine months before her birth, leading her to wonder if Beau might really be her biological father. Sarah also accuses her grandmother of being the inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, the older character who seduced the young man in The Graduate, who later ran away with her daughter.
After the wedding, Sarah decides to fly to San Francisco, where Beau, now a highly successful and very wealthy Silicon Valley Internet wizard, is giving a speech. She meets him, and he admits to sleeping with her mother and grandmother. However, Beau assures Sarah he could not be her father because he is sterile after having suffered blunt testicular trauma while playing a soccer game in high school. They go out for drinks, and the following morning she wakes up in Beau's bed in his Half Moon Bay homethe third generation in her family to have sex with Beau.
Although Sarah is guilt-stricken by her behavior, Beau convinces her to be his date at a charity ball, where she meets Beau's son Blake. Beau explains his wife wanted a biological child so was artificially inseminated with a sperm donor to become pregnant. Mollified, Sarah kisses him but is caught by Jeff, who has returned to California to find her after not hearing from her since she went to meet Beau. An argument ensues and Jeff leaves for NYC.
Dejected, Sarah returns to Katharine's, who flies into a rage when she learns Beau has slept with her granddaughter as well. The two learn Annie suffered an anxiety attack while flying to her honeymoon and wants to talk to Sarah. Sarah tells her about the sexual relations three generations of Richelieu/Huttinger women have had with Beau. She reassures Annie she truly is in love with her husband Scott and, in doing so, realizes she is ready to marry Jeff.
It is also revealed that Earl was the one who accidentally caused Beau's testicular trauma. This makes Beau somewhat nervous to be around him, while Katherine is quite pleased by the revelation. Earl reveals to Sarah he always knew about Jocelyn and Beau's affair. Jocelyn returned to him because she loved him and knew she could build a life with him. On the night she returned, Sarah was conceived. This explained the slightly early timing between her parents' wedding and her own birth.
Determined to win Jeff back, Sarah returns to New York and tells him about her feelings. They reconcile on the condition that if they ever have a daughter, she will not be allowed anywhere near Beau. The film ends with Sarah and Jeff's wedding.