When Andy Farmer (Chevy Chase) receives a $10,000 advance from his publisher, he and his wife decide that it's finally time to make the leap. They purchase a house in the country, and leave the city behind.
The first glimpse of their new home is a wonderful one. The town of Redbud, perhaps not, but then, we don't really see much of it, as the Farmers appear to be on the outskirts of town. So much so, in fact, that their moving van can't find them until the next day, and it means that they have to suffer through the first night without a change of clothes, without furniture, and without even anything to eat.
In retrospect, they should perhaps have taken this as a sign and moved back to the city.
But they don't. If they did, it would be one of the shorter movies in history.
Instead, they decide to stay in their new home, and the problems begin.
The first is that they have no food. This is compounded by the fact that the only thing they have to eat are a banana and an apple. Neither of which Andy realizes until both are gone. Again looking back, this is probably a bad sign. Both that they had little food, and that they did not trust each other enough to share what they did have.
When the furniture movers do arrive, they promptly throw Andy's nice leather chair into the pond, so that he knows just how they feel about him and the map that he drew. With such a wonderful reception, he decides it best not to be too harsh on them for making him sleep on the floor.
After setting up house, the Farmers promptly set about their new lives. As Andy begins to write his new book, his wife starts to plant a garden. And finds a coffin. It seems that the previous owner found out about her husband's meandering ways, and when she did, she buried him in the garden. When the Farmers tell the townspeople about it, they take care of the problem - and send Andy a bill for the nicest plot of land you ever did see, overlooking everything. Andy isn't too happy.
On and on it goes, with the problems mounting. Even the phone is an issue, if you can imagine. Did you ever see the episode of The Brady Bunch, where they had a pay phone installed? Imagine that, but it's worse, because it's apparently the only phone in the house. Then there is the crazy (and/or drunk) mailman that gets under Andy's skin. And the fact that he can't write, so he sells his wife's book to the publisher, which gets him into even more hot water.
In fact, the only high point to the whole stay is the fact that Andy holds the town record for lamb fries. Unfortunately, he finds out that lamb fries are, in fact, from the part of the lamb that you probably don't want to eat, and that puts an end to that.
Before long, the Farmers are on the edge of divorce, so they come up with a great idea. They will distribute copies of the Saturday Evening Post to the residents of Redbud, and if the people will act civilized around someone who ends up buying the house, the Farmers will actually share in the money. What do you know, they actually hold up their end of the bargain.
Not long after, there are two potential buyers who want the house, with the furniture and all - but the Farmers like the way the folks in Redbud act so much, they decide to stay. This just about causes a revolt among the people who want the money they were promised, so they decide to honor that, just to keep the peace.
In the end, Andy goes back to being a sportwriter for the Redbud paper, and his wife becomes the novelist, with her tales of forest critters who get into all sorts of trouble when they end up in the city. The fish out of water stories that were based on Andy seem to have struck a vein, and in the end of it all, the Farmers do seem to have found happiness, even if it took them longer than most to get there.
Rated PG for comic violence and language.
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