Summaries

Synopsis

The opening sequence introduces us to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a series of cut scenes showing different areas of the city before focusing on our two protagonists beginning their morning routines. In the very first line of dialogue, Casey reads Jay a letter from the IRS stating the he (Jay) has 90 days to pay off an $80,000 debt. After a short brainstorming session, the two realize that neither they nor anybody they know has the means to pay off this massive debt, and they resolve to obtain the money through illegal means.

The pair asks Jay's brother, Alex if he will introduce them to his roommate, Lenny, who is involved in a good amount of organized crime. Casey can not refrain from commenting on Lenny's eccentricities and Lenny immediately does not like him, but still agrees to help.

Lenny initially suggests things like bank robbery and heroin dealing to get the money, however, Jay and Casey are thrown off by the severe criminality of these acts. Lenny suggests that they simply lure a rich friend away from her parents to an area in the woods with no cell phone service for long enough to make it seem as though she has been abducted so that a ransom can be collected from her parents. Lenny explains that even if they are caught, they would only be charged with extortion - a third degree felony, rather than kidnapping - a first degree felony.

Jay and Casey invite their friend, Shannon to go on a camping trip with them before returning to med school at the end of her summer break and she accepts on the condition that Casey doesn't get "creepy" with her after drinking too much.

We are now introduced to Lenny's boyfriend, Darius. Darius is very loving and supportive of Lenny, and Lenny shows Darius a gentle and caring side of himself, which nobody else ever gets to see. Their relationship is healthy, trusting, and stable.

The following morning, Jay and Casey meet up with Lenny to gather supplies they'll need to execute their plan. After a short argument over punctuality and a disagreement establishing that Lenny doesn't like music, the three set off to obtain a stolen laptop, cell phones, and ATM cards so that none of their activities can be traced back to them.

A reoccurring bit of Casey trying to determine whether or not Lenny is Russian without asking directly is established during the ride to the first location, but no clear answer is given by Lenny. Still curious, Casey sorts through Lenny's glovebox in search of clues to his ethnicity while Lenny obtains the stolen laptop. Casey and Jay are both mortified to find a severed human finger in Lenny's glovebox, not realizing what a seriously dangerous person he is at this point. In the following scene, Lenny's violence is placed on full display when he brutally murders another motorist for driving too slowly in front of him.

The trio goes to Lenny's associate, Frank's house to obtain the cell phones and ATM cards. Frank immediately does not like Casey the first time that he sees him and forces him to wait outside. After leaving Frank's house, the trio realizes that they are being followed by the MPA because the film has no central conflict and no B-plot, and none of the actors involved have SAG cards.

The following day, they do a dry run of their plan to ensure that things will run smoothly. The day after that, Lenny introduces the boys to Lucius Washington, a local crime kingpin. Casey can't get past the fact that Lucius is a skinny, white yuppie who never stops smiling and speaks like Ned Flanders, and nearly gets himself killed for failing to take Mr. Washington as seriously as he's supposed to.

Next, we are introduced to Detectives Callahan and Musto. They chase a suspect through the streets, and Musto assaults him in front of a group of onlookers after apprehending him, leading to a very mild tongue lashing from his Captain.

As Jay and Casey pack their car for the camping trip, Benedetti arrives and attempts to bring about animosity between the two protagonists to build tension in the film's plot. His attempt is unsuccessful and he speeds off in anger. The pair picks up Shannon from her house and sets off. En route to the "cabin" where they'll be camping, the three are pulled over by the police. It is revealed that it is in fact Lenny impersonating a police officer. He films himself handcuffing the trio, giving them an intimidating speech, then putting them in the trunk of his car. He only drives a few feet before letting the three out of the trunk and telling them that they were on Candid Camera, and they'll get their checks in the mail. In the following scene, Lenny edits the video to appear as though he has kidnapped the trio and sends the video to Shannon's parents along with a ransom note.

We go back to the "cabin" where Shannon comments that it is in fact a modular home in the middle of nowhere. The three then roast hot dogs, which Casey brought with him, but left unrefrigerated for several hours in the summer heat. They get sick from eating the hot dogs, prompting Shannon to ask if they can go back home. A panicked Casey steals Jay's car, abandons it on the side of a highway, and comes back to tell the others that it broke down and AAA will not be able to respond for two days, in an effort to keep Shannon from leaving. After this, Casey reveals that he found a large amount of psilocybin mushrooms, and the group takes them and trips for the following two days.

Shannon's parents contact the police immediately and hold a press conference, reaching out to find leads on their daughter's whereabouts. Lenny sees the press conference and sends them a severed finger, claiming it to be Shannon's to show that he means business. They are horrified and they agree to pay the ransom.

A long sequence set to music shows the actual plan take place. Lenny uses the laptop on a public wifi network to receive the money digitally, then uses money transfer apps to put the ransom on the stolen bank cards, then withdraw it from a nearby ATM before throwing the laptop, cell phone, and bank cards in a river, then blowing up the police cruiser from earlier. Immediately afterward, he is stopped by Benedetti for a final showdown. Lenny (played by the writer of the film) admits that he has no logical way to wrap up Benedetti's subplot and is going to use technique of Deus Ex Machina to simply do away with him. A moment later, an MPA executive arrives and informs Benedetti that he's being taken off the case.

Callahan and Musto are leaving the bank where Lenny withdrew the ransom money and are furious because he has left no evidence behind that offers any sort of clues as to who he is. The detectives get into a heated exchange where Callahan reveals that in 25 years, he has never had a case go unsolved. Their conversation is interrupted when Callahan receives a phone call informing him that Shannon has returned home.

Shannon and her family are conducting another press conference, announcing her return. Shannon is still tripping on mushrooms, has no idea that anybody thought she was kidnapped, and is very confused. Callahan realizes that none of her fingers are missing and immediately interrogates her. After being shown the ransom video and note, she explains that she doesn't know who the man was, and that he simply put her in his trunk, let her back out, and told her that she was on Candid Camera. The Detectives ask her where Jay and Casey live, then go to question them. Jay and Casey play dumb, and Casey's typical peculiar demeanor convinces the detectives that they are just idiots and don't have any information to offer them.

Feeling defeated by the complete lack of evidence or leads, Callahan reaches the end of his rope and kills himself in front of Musto in the middle of the street. Musto reacts only by saying "That's gonna be a lot of paperwork".

In the final scene, Jay, Casey, and Lenny sit in Lenny's house while he explains to them that in addition to paying off Jay's debt, they'll each walk away with over $30,000 profit from the job and agrees to help them launder their money. Casey asks Lenny to clarify that he doesn't like any music at all. Lenny reveals that he does like one song, but before showing it to the boys, he has must do something he's been anticipating. Lenny then punches Casey in the nose, knocking him out of his chair, walks over to the computer, explains "my mother used to play me this song as a child", and puts on the USSR National Anthem. As he listens, a single tear falls from his eye. Jay asks Lenny directly if he is Russian, to Casey's dismay. Lenny reveals that he is in fact half Lithuanian and half Puerto Rican, which Casey exclaims that he never would have guessed. End credits roll over the Soviet National Anthem.