Widower and crane operator Harry Keach demolishes buildings in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, while his son Howard spends his days detailing cars and surfing. One day, as Harry bowls with friends, he experiences blurred vision and a severe headache, and is unable to finish his game. Although, Howard aspires to be a writer, Harry wants him to focus on a more stable career. It has been two years since Harry’s wife died, and Howard encourages his reluctant father to start dating. Soon after, Harry has a flash of blindness while operating the crane and nearly kills a co-worker. He confesses his symptoms to his supervisor and is pulled off the job. Rather than accept a desk job or work security, Harry is fired. Failing to find a construction job, he visits his brother, Tom, at his military supply store. Tom invites his brother to join him in the business, but Harry is not interested and walks out. Howard asks his hairdresser sister, Nina, to come by the house, but she declines, since Harry does not like her insurance salesman husband, Andy. In the neighborhood, Howard glimpses Katie, his high school girl friend, now pregnant with another man’s child. That night, Harry has had enough of Howard’s dreams and orders him to get a job with a future. The following day, a client of Howard’s named Sally notices him looking at the classifieds section of the newspaper. She invites him to her office, where she offers him a job, then seduces him. Meanwhile, Harry’s neighbor and Katie's mother, pet store owner Lilly Wilowski, urges him to end his mourning and move on with his life. Harry responds with sarcasm and mocks Lilly’s practice of phrenology. Elsewhere, Howard arrives at his new job dressed in coat-and-tie, thinking he has been hired to be a writer, but discovers it is factory work making cardboard boxes. Siemanowski, the foreman, trains him, then criticizes his attitude of entitlement. Howard intentionally overloads the machinery and is fired. Later, Harry apologizes to Lilly for his behavior toward her and returns home and to find Howard, whom he immediately berates for not seizing the opportunity to do "real work." That night, Howard seeks out Katie and confronts her about their breakup. He wants to know why she made love with other boys. Katie apologizes, and admits she does not know the identity of the father of her baby. They agree to give the relationship another try. Harry and Tom take Howard deep-sea fishing and ask the young man to work at Tom’s store, but Howard rejects the idea. That night, Howard starts a new job as a repossession agent. His boss, Lawrence, takes him to repossess a truck from a man named Raymond. Raymond angrily confronts Howard, and Lawrence flees. When Raymond calms down, he tells Howard to take the truck, and invites him in for a beer. As Raymond shares the story of losing his job, he changes his mind and decides to hide the truck in a used car lot. Howard realizes he is not cut out to be a “repo man,” and Raymond asks him for a job referral with the repossession agency. Meanwhile, an intoxicated Harry returns to his former job and begins demolishing a building. The night watchman arranges to have police take Harry home. In the morning, Harry is angered that Howard failed at another job. Harry’s daughter Nina, her husband, Andy, and their baby daughter visit, but Harry insults Andy. Howard calls for a truce, and Nina asks Harry if she can have her mother’s set of china. Harry agrees, but soaks the bottom of the box with water, causing the china to crash to the floor when Andy lifts it. Angry, Nina leaves, but returns because she left her keys behind. Howard sabotages the cleanup and Nina thinks it is hilarious when the box breaks again. Afterward, Harry has chest pains and a doctor confirms a coronary irregularity. When Howard relates his father’s other symptoms, the doctor orders him to get Harry to his office as soon as possible. The following day, Katie reads Howard’s latest story, which focuses on his complex relationship with Harry. Raymond joins them for brunch and shares that he is now a successful repossession agent. Later, Howard buys Harry a new camelhair sport coat for his birthday, and mails his short story to a magazine. Katie goes into labor, but when Howard attempts to call her doctor, she confesses that she does not have one because she did not want to answer a lot of questions. Howard gets them a ride to the nearest hospital, but they are refused admittance because they lack money and insurance. They take a taxicab across town to the county hospital, and Howard delivers the baby in the backseat of the car. The following day, Howard finds Harry at a bowling alley coffee shop, and exclaims that he wants to marry Katie and have a family. Harry orders his son to move out in hopes it will force him to grow up. Later, Howard visits Katie and the baby, and Katie informs him that she wants to name him Harry, because Howard loves his father so much. Meanwhile, Harry shares his worries with Lilly about Howard marrying Katie, but the concern is not mutual. That night, Howard drops by the house and Harry informs him he received an envelope from a magazine containing a check for $1,500 and a letter thanking him for submitting the story. Surprised, Harry hugs his son, who informs him that Katie named her baby after him. Later, Howard introduces his father to his former client, Sally, and leaves them alone to make love. Sometime later, Howard rents Harry a beach house, and they have a small party with Katie and Lilly. As Harry allows Lilly to examine the bumps on his head, he laments that he has missed a lot of experiences in life and ] suggests they babysit the following night to allow Howard and Katie go to the movies. The next morning, Howard discovers his father dead on the floor of the beach house. He kisses him goodbye and covers Harry with the camelhair sport coat. At the wake, Nina is angry and Andy points out that she and her father were very much alike. Tom confides to Howard that the surplus business lacks romance and tells him to stay committed to his dreams. Lilly states that she and Harry shared a nice moment and she is going to enjoy remembering it. Sometime later, at the beach, Howard regrets that he was not able to give his father everything he wanted him to have, and he and Katie laugh that baby Harry will grow up to be a banker.