A naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
Texas greenhorn Joe Buck arrives in New York City for the first time. Preening himself as a real "hustler", he finds that he is the one getting "hustled" until he teams up with down-and-out but resilient outcast Ratso Rizzo. The initial "country cousin meets city cousin" relationship deepens. In their efforts to bilk a hostile world rebuffing them at every turn, this unlikely pair progress from partners in shady business to comrades. Each has found his first real friend.—alfiehitchie
The naive Joe Buck quits his job of dishwasher and travels from his small Texas hometown to New York City expecting to make money as a hustler. On arrival, he is lured by the crippled crook Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo, who takes some money from him. Soon Joe is broke and homeless without client or money, and when he meets Ratso on the streets again, Ratso invites Joe to move into his apartment in a derelict building. Ratso has a strange cough and as his health worsens he dreams of moving to Florida where he believes he'll recover. Joe decides to accompany his friend to Florida as soon as he gets the necessary money.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Attired in urban cowboy garb, Joe Buck is a naive Texas hayseed newly arrived in New York City to make it big as a gigolo, solely to his preferred clientele of rich, attractive women. His belief in his appeal to the female persuasion has been reinforced his entire life by every female he has ever encountered: family, friends, and lovers past and present. But life in New York City disappoints: he's out-hustled by most of the people he meets, and he lacks the fortitude to hustle them right back to get what was originally due to him. With nowhere to turn, he eventually befriends one of those hustlers: Enrico Salvatore Rizzo, a sickly man with a gimp leg. Some call him Ratzo, a nickname he dislikes. Joe ends up squatting with Ratso in a room he has found in a condemned, thus otherwise-empty building. As they lean on each other for support, they work together for their mutual benefit and survival. But as Ratso's health deteriorates over the winter, Joe changes his focus to achieving Ratso's dream of moving to Miami.—Huggo
When Joe Buck (Voight), a good-looking, naively charming Texas 'cowboy' makes his way to the Big Apple to seek his fortune, the only wealth he finds is in the friendship of Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman), a sleazy, small-time con man with big dreams. Living on the tattered fringe of society, these two outcasts develop an unlikely bond, one that transcends their broken dreams.
As the film opens, Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a young Texan working as a dishwasher, dresses in new cowboy clothing, packs a suitcase, and quits his job. He heads to New York City hoping to succeed as a male prostitute for women. Initially unsuccessful, he succeeds in bedding a well-to-do middle-aged New Yorker (Sylvia Miles), but Joe ends up giving her money.
Joe then meets Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a street con man with a limp who takes $20 from Joe by offering to introduce him to a known pimp, who turns out to be a Bible thumper (John McGiver). Joe flees the encounter in pursuit of Ratso. Joe spends his days wandering the city and sitting in his hotel room. Soon broke, he is locked out of his hotel room and most of his belongings are impounded.
Joe tries to make money by agreeing to receive oral sex from a young man (Bob Balaban) in a movie theater. When Joe learns that he has no money, Joe threatens him and asks for his watch, but eventually lets him go. The following day, Joe spots Ratso and angrily shakes him down. Ratso offers to share the apartment in which he is squatting in a condemned building. Joe accepts reluctantly, and they begin a "business relationship" as hustlers. As they develop a bond, Ratso's health, which has never been good, grows steadily worse.
Joe's story is told through flashbacks throughout the film. His grandmother raises him after his mother abandons him, though his grandmother frequently neglects him as well. He also has a tragic relationship with Annie, a local girl. Ratso's back story comes through stories he tells Joe. His father was an illiterate Italian immigrant shoe-shiner, who worked in a subway station. He developed a bad back, and "coughed his lungs out from breathin' in that wax all day". Ratso learned shining from his father but won't stoop so low as to do so. He dreams of moving one day to Miami.
An unusual couple approach Joe and Ratso in a diner and hand Joe a flyer, inviting him to a party. They enter a Warhol-esque party scene (with Warhol superstars in cameos). Joe smokes a joint, thinking it's a normal cigarette and, after taking a pill someone offered, begins to hallucinate. He leaves the party with a socialite (Brenda Vaccaro), who agrees to pay $20 for spending the night with him, but Joe cannot perform. They play Scribbage together, and Joe shows his limited academic prowess. She teasingly suggests that Joe may be gay, and he is suddenly able to perform.
In the morning, the socialite sets up her friend as Joe's next customer, and it appears that his career is on its way. When Joe returns home, Ratso is bedridden and feverish. Ratso refuses medical help (because he has no money or health insurance) and begs Joe to put him on a bus to Florida. Desperate, Joe picks up a man in an amusement arcade (Barnard Hughes), and when things go wrong, robs the man when he tries to pay with a religious medallion instead of cash. With the cash he steals, Joe buys two bus tickets.
On the journey, Ratso's frail physical condition further deteriorates. At a rest stop, Joe buys new clothing for Ratso and himself, discarding his cowboy outfit. As they near Miami, Joe talks of getting a regular job, only to realize Ratso has died. The driver tells Joe there is nothing else to do, but continue on to Miami. The film closes with Joe, alone and afraid, seated with his arm around his dead friend.
