Following the loss of his mother in a car crash, T.J. (Devin Brochu) falls into a state of depression. He becomes obsessed with the car his mother died in and follows it when it is towed away. He and his passive, depressed and pill-taking father Paul (Rainn Wilson) live with T.J.'s grandmother Madeleine (Piper Laurie), where they are soon joined by a squatter, Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a foul-mouthed, tattooed, Heavy metal music-loving lout.