A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
When dignified Albert Donnelly runs for Governor, his team moves to keep his slow-witted and klutzy younger brother, Mike, out of the eye of the media. To baby-sit Mike, the campaign assigns sarcastic Steve, who gets the experience of a lifetime when he tries to take Mike out of town during the election.
Party animal Tommy Callahan is a few cans short of a six-pack. But when the family business starts tanking, it's up to Tommy and number-cruncher Richard Hayden to save the day.
Unemployed and recently dumped, Mitch and his buddy Sam start a revenge-for-hire business to raise the $50,000 that Sam's father needs to get a heart transplant. The dirty duo brings down a movie theater manager and hires hookers to pose as dead bodies during a live TV ad. When a wealthy developer hires the guys to trash a building (so that he can have it condemned), problems arise and a feud ensues.