劳伦斯(丹尼斯·奎德 Dennis Quaid 饰)是一名要求严苛的中年教授,虽然心地善良,但他拒人千里的气质使得学生对其厌烦,儿子和女儿也日渐对其冷淡。自从妻子去世后,独自抚养两个孩子的他就变得更加烦躁和无奈。一天,劳伦斯意外从栅栏上摔下来,被送进了医院,并得知负责他康复的女医生珍妮特(莎拉·杰茜卡·帕克 Sarah Jessica Parker 饰)原来是他曾经教过的学生,不过他已经记不清楚了。在频频约会后,劳伦斯发现自己似乎爱上了珍妮特,然而却深知自己仍在妻子逝世的阴影之下徘徊。面对眼前他不舍放弃的女子,似乎是爱情让这个老男人又开始尝试改变,尝试敞开心扉,尝试一个新的自己……Lawrence Wetherhold is miserable and misanthropic: he's a widower, a pompous professor at Carnegie Mellon, an indifferent father to a college student and a high-school senior, and the reluctant brother of a ne'er-do-well who's come to town. A seizure and a fall send Lawrence to the emergency room where the physician, a former student of his, ends up going on a date with him. His daughter, Vanessa, lonely and friendless, who's been bonding with his brother, tries to sabotage dad and the doctor's relationship, but Lawrence is good at that without help. Is there any way these smart people can get a life? Can happiness be pursued beneath layers of irony?