| Director | Sean Baker |
|---|---|
| Budget | $1.1 million |
| Box office | $2.3 million |
Washed-up and down-on-his-luck L. A. pornstar Mikey "Saber" Davies returns to his hometown of Texas City, Texas, for the first time in 17 years to start over. After a two-day bus ride and with $22 on him, he arrives at the modest home of his estranged wife and fellow ex-pornstar, Lexi, and her mother, Lil, begging them to let him stay. They reluctantly agree, but insist that he get a job and do household chores. Mikey has several job interviews, but due to the long gap in his résumé and his fame as an adult film actor, nobody hires him. Desperate, he reaches out to Leondria, the mother of a schoolmate, to give him back his old job selling cannabis. Leondria and her daughter June suspect that Mikey will smoke it himself, but their business arrangement continues after he returns with his earnings. Since he does not have a car, Mikey uses Lexi's kids' old bicycle.
After sleeping on the couch for several nights, Mikey starts having sex with Lexi. Eventually, she invites him to share her bedroom. Mikey gives Lexi and Lil a month's rent in advance and takes them to a donut shop to celebrate. He becomes smitten with Raylee, a 17-year-old girl who works at the counter and goes by the name Strawberry. He returns and shares a joint with her, and she recommends he consider the construction workers who frequent the shop as customers. They start a sexual relationship. One night, she plays him a piano version of "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC.
Mikey befriends Lexi's neighbor Lonnie, whom Lexi babysat when he was younger. They spend time together. During a trip to the mall, Mikey learns that Lonnie is pretending to be an Army veteran to sell US flags and gets humiliated and thrown into the mall fountain by two actual veterans, who see through him.
Mikey persuades Strawberry to break up with Nash, a classmate with whom she has been having casual sex. Nash and his parents confront Mikey in the donut shop parking lot and beat him up.
Mikey repeatedly tries to persuade Strawberry to travel with him to Los Angeles to pursue a career in pornography, which he plans to manage as his way back into the business. They grow closer, causing him to become distant from Lexi. When he disappears for a weekend with Strawberry, Lexi grows suspicious and they argue. Mikey berates her and brags about the $3,000 he made selling drugs.
While riding in Lonnie's car, Mikey brags about his success with Strawberry and his comeback, which distracts Lonnie and makes him almost miss their exit, causing them to swerve across traffic, creating a multiple-vehicle collision that results in many injuries. They flee the scene and Mikey begs Lonnie to hide his involvement. Mikey is anxious, but Lonnie assumes full responsibility for the crash when he is arrested.
Using the crash as an excuse, Mikey visits Strawberry at work and asks her to come to Los Angeles with him and start her porn career. She agrees and quits her job. That evening, before going to bed, Mikey tells Lexi he is leaving for California in the morning.
Later that night, while Mikey is sleeping, Lexi and Lil call Leondria to send her adult children, June and her brothers, to seize the $3,000 Mikey earned. They wake him and take the money. Mikey flees out the bedroom window and runs naked to Leondria's house, begging her to return his money. He realizes that all this time, Leondria has been keeping an eye on him for Lexi and Lil. She gives Mikey $200 for a bus ticket and tells him to leave town forever, and that if he is still there by tomorrow or ever comes back, he will be beaten up.
Humiliated, Mikey leaves with his few possessions in a trash bag. After walking to Strawberry's house all night, he reaches it in the morning, dehydrated and exhausted. Upon arriving, he imagines Strawberry opening the door in a red bikini and dancing, and tears up.