In 1974, the Conway family are at a drive-in theater in Connecticut watching The Three Stooges. The parents are Gloria (Geena Davis), a foul-mouthed and strict mother who will always take responsibility over the family, Ray (Joel Tobeck), an easy going father, and siblings Linda, Gene, Larry (Harry Cook) and Billy (Harrison Gilbertson) who is an accident-prone child. In the meantime, the Conway's neighbor, Douglas "Doug" Post (Sebastian Gregory), whom Gloria hates and often calls him names because he is the one who causes problems that could be offensive towards the family, drives by on his bike and Gene leads him up to the top of the drive-in screen. Gene then proceeds to urinate out of the screen. While an infuriated Gloria trips as she approaches the screen, the police are dispatched to handle the situation as infuriated and confused guests honk at Gene and Doug. While driving back home, an argument over the incident causes their car to collide with a pick-up truck during the rainy night. Although Gloria, Ray, Billy, and Larry only suffer minor injuries, Linda is killed and Gene is severely injured with severe brain damage (that could be fatal in a matter of time) and is left paralyzed from the head down.