Plot: The adult life of Barney Panofsky, the Montréal-based producer of the long running soap opera "O'Malley of the North", is presented over the course of what end up being three failed marriages starting from 1975 to present day. Barney being able to attract three wives is despite many people in his life considering him, in polite terms, being a bit of a schmuck. The first marriage, which takes place when he is living in Rome, ends up being one partly out of circumstance, that circumstance which was not completely accurate to what he knew. The second marriage is to a stereotypical Jewish princess, who liked to tell the world more than anything about obtaining a Masters degree from McGill. Beyond their basic incompatibility, this second marriage is doomed to failure in part because of her extremely wealthy father looking down on Barney and Barney's own father, retired police detective Izzy Panofsky, and in part because of Barney's own fixation on two other items at their wedding besides her. The third marriage is to who Barney would arguably consider the love of his life and the woman for who he would do anything. But his own insecurities may be the largest cause of the break-up of that marriage. The individual effect of Barney's three closest buddies - Boogie, Leo and Cedric - on his marriages is also shown.
Alternative Plot: Toward the end of his life, Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti) looks back on his triumphs and tragedies, beginning with an ill-fated relationship with Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), whom he marries when she becomes pregnant. When that falls apart, he moves back home to Montreal and gets married twice more, finally finding contentment with Miriam (Rosamund Pike), his third wife. Through it all, Barney is sustained by his work in television, raising children and the advice of his father (Dustin Hoffman).
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