In this story set in the early 1960s, Jimmy Reardon (River Phoenix) is a 17-year-old hormonally charged teen who bemoans the fact that his high school days are over in this comedy drama. He hopes to earn enough money to leave Evanston, Illinois and join his standoffish sweetheart Lisa (Meredith Salenger) in Hawaii. Although he has no luck with his own girlfriend, Jimmy manages to sleep with his best friend's girl and his father's sweetheart Joyce (Ann Magnuson).