Plot: After an illness, sporting goods store owner Mort Altman has just died, bringing his family and friends together to mourn his passing, his family of a wife and four adult offspring who do not see each other often due partly to geographic distance and largely to the siblings having totally different personalities. His family includes: his liberally-minded wife Hilary, a therapist who used the family issues as the source for her widely successful books; third offspring Judd, a New York radio talk show producer, who has always had his life mapped out and thus does not respond well to anything throwing him off course; second offspring Wendy, the proverbial glue of the family; oldest offspring, Paul, the straight-laced responsible one who manages the store; and youngest offspring Phillip, the irresponsible one. Mort's last wish, which Hilary wants the family to observe despite he not being religious, is for the family to sit shiva together at the family home. Their time together over the week is not good for some as the siblings deal with their current life issues. Judd is as thrown off course as he's ever been, losing both his job and his wife Quinn in one fell swoop as he caught Quinn cheating on him with his boss, Wade. Wendy believes Judd will rebound with childhood friend Penny, who had always had a crush on him, before he returns to life with Quinn, as finding that preset path is what Judd does best. Wendy is married to workaholic businessman Barry, which makes her think about what life would have been like if she stayed with her childhood sweetheart Horry, who still lives across the street from Hilary with his mother, Linda, largely because of a brain injury he sustained in a car accident when he and Wendy were still dating. Linda, Hilary and Mort had long been best friends, who were there for each other during the good times and the bad, the latter which included Mort's illness and Horry's accident. Paul and his wife Annie, who Judd used to date, having been trying to have a child with no success. On top of Paul and Annie's family issue, Mort's death throws the state of the store into question, Paul who still believes it is rightly his despite having only fifty percent interest. And Phillip arrives on the scene with his current girlfriend Tracy, his former therapist who is closer in age to his mom than to himself. Phillip believes that Tracy has made him a more responsible human being holistically. Throughout the shiva, Hilary has her own agenda beyond mourning the passing of her husband.
Alternative Plot: When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings return to their childhood home and are requested -- with an admonition -- to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother (Jane Fonda) and a collection of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. As the brothers and sisters re-examine their shared history and the status of each tattered relationship among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterically funny and emotionally significant ways.
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