The movie starts with Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a director, and Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) entering a club owned by Maurice Rodríguez (Luis Guzmán). Maurice then meets Buck Swope (Don Cheadle) and Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly). Rollergirl (Heather Graham) then meets Amber and Jack but soon wants to pee. We also see Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), a waitor, who overlooks but Jack fixes a glare at him as he leaves. Lastly, Little Bill Thomson (William H. Macy) wants to fix a date for shooting a movie but Jack changes the schedule. Jack ignores him and goes to see Eddie. Eddie thinks Jack wants to see him masturbate but misunderstands why Jack wants to see him. We then realise that Jack Horner is a porn film director, who directs "exotic pictures". Jack wants to talk to him over a drink but Eddie refuses his offer.
The nightclub switches off their lights. Jack goes home with Amber and fixes himself with a drink. Amber wants to speak with her son over the phone but her ex-husband Tom refuses to do so. Little Bill goes home to see his wife having sex over a strange man. Eddie goes home in his underwear and shows off his ego by doing some karate moves.
Next morning. Eddie's parents get angry that he's working at a car wash at day and a nightclub at night. They get furious as he doesn't go to school. Buck Swope tries to sell a hi-fi system but fails to sell it. His manager blames him because of his "cowboy look". Rollergirl is at a school doing a test but the questions seem to be confusing. A guy tries to imitate a girl sucking a penis and Rollergirl leaves the classroom. Eddie goes to his girlfriend, Sheryl Lynn's house. Sheryl praises Eddie and says that he is good in sex. This forces Eddie to join the porn industry.
In the nightclub, Jack whispers something in Rollergirl's ears. Rollergirl takes Eddie in a room and we see her bending down to give Eddie a blowjob. Afterwards, Eddie is seen walking around the street and Jack offers Eddie a ride, along with Amber and Rollergirl. Jack takes them to a diner and talks about the porn industry and make a story in which it "sucks them in". They then go to Jack's house and Jack tells Rollergirl to have sex with Eddie. She accepts it and Jack watches them have sex.
Early morning. Eddie arrives home and his mother gets arrogant. She calls Eddie's girlfriend a slut. She goes crazy and this drives Eddie mad. He leaves his house and goes to Jack's mansion. Jack is having a party and introduces Eddie to Reed Rothchild. They both have a margarita. Colonel James (Robert Ridgely), a financier, gets out of a car with an unknown teenager and Jack welcomes them. Buck tries to talk to his girlfriend Becky Barnett (Nicole Ari Parker) about the previous situation but she gets mad at him and asks him to change his look. Maurice tries to ask Amber to act in a porn movie and she says that she will see what she can do. The unknown teenager finds someone who has coke and decides to snort it with him. Eddie and Reed are swimming. Reed tries to perform a jackknife but doesn't succeed and falls flat on his back. A call also rings up. Maurice picks it up and the reciever asks for Maggie. Maurice calls for a Maggie but no one seems to answer (it is Amber who is actually Maggie but she is seen snorting coke). Little Bill goes home to see his wife having sex on his driveway and walks away from it with disgust. His neighbour tries to talk to him about the shooting but Little Bill gets angry and walks away. The Colonel then sees that the unknown teenager he was with OD'd (drug overdose) and asks the chauffeur to drop her off somewhere. Scotty J. (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a boom operator, sees love in first sight with Eddie and converses with him. Eddie later on is introduced to the Colonel by Jack. Later that night, Jack decides to go in a hot tub with Reed and Eddie. Jack asks Eddie to pick up a name for his career and Eddie picks up the name 'Dirk Diggler'.
The shooting day. Little Bill discusses the script with Jack. Jack decides that Eddie and Amber should be together in a scene. Scotty tells Eddie it is time and Eddie has a monologue and tells to himself that he's ready. Scotty also tells Eddie he looks sexy. Eddie goes and Jack discusses the scene. Amber and Eddie also decide that he should come on her breasts. Little Bill also gives some advice to Eddie. They shoot the sex scene which involves Eddie asking for an interview while they perform sex. The crew eventually runs out of film and they change angles. Amber tells Eddie to come inside her and tell her she's "fixed" (which means she's sterilised).
The crew then decides to celebrate it with a party. Reed and Eddie buy new shirts and shoes. Eddie then dances with Rollergirl in the same nightclub that he used to work in. The Colonel is seen with a new girl while Becky talks to a new guy. We also see Reed as a magician and perform a rising card trick to Buck. We see Eddie rise to fame as people flock to see his movies while critics praises his "suck-cess". Eddie is also seen dancing with Reed and other people. Eddie also shows that he doesn't like slapping women's butts and discusses a new series with Jack. Eddie decides that he should be called Brock Landers while Reed should be called Chest Rockwell. Jack also wins three awards at the 2nd Annual Adult Film Awards: Best Newcomer, Best Cock and Best Actor. He promises that he will make better movies.
1978. We see a still from the new show Brock Landers: Angels Live In My Town. Jack tells his editor to do some changes. Eddie then takes Amber around his new house and we see an extensive wardrobe and his most favourite possession: an orange Chevrolet Corvette. We also see a porn actress Jessie St. Vincent (Melora Walters) drawing a portrait of him. Jack likes the concept of the series. Eddie still wins more awards from the Adult Film Awards.
December 31, 1979 - New Year's Eve. Floyd Gondoli (Philip Baker Hall) meets the Colonel in Jack's New Year's party and shows him his new porn actors. Amber interrupts Jessie and Eddie and Jessie decides to talk to Buck, who feels lonely. Todd Parker (Thomas Jane) also enters Jack's party and talks to Reed. Buck tells Jessie all about what he wants to do. Amber asks Eddie to snort a line of cocaine and he readily agrees to do so. Floyd privately talks to Jack and asks him to switch to videotape and tells him it's the "future". Jack argues with him but he doesn't decide whether or not they should stop filming on film and start on videotape. Scotty shows Eddie his new car, which happens to be an orange Corvette. To show his infatuation, Scotty kisses Eddie but Eddie gets sickened by this and leaves. Scotty starts crying in his car and realises that he did something stupid. Little Bill is seen entering the party and gets disgusted to see his wife again having sex. Embarrassed by this, he goes to his car and draws out a revolver. As the countdown to New Year nears, Little Bill kills his wife and her lover in cold blood while everyone is confused as to what happened.
1980s. A documentary on Eddie is being shown to us. He disregards violence while the narrator shows his credibility. Reed also shares his interests on what he decides to do in the future. Rollergirl also shows his credibility by praising him. Eddie then talks about how people have thanked him for his work and also on what Jack does. We then see that it is Amber who has made the documentary while Eddie watches it and thanks her for it. The telephone rings and Jack picks it up, who later realises it's the Colonel who's speaking to him.
The Colonel is smiling while we realise that he's in a prison, charged for child pornography. The Colonel tells the whole situation: He brings in a 15-year-old girl who had a drug overdose, but Jack doesn't believe him and gets saddened by this. We later see Becky Barnett marrying the guy (the same guy during the after-shoot party). During the party, Eddie sees Jack with a new porn actor named Johnny Doe (Jonathan Quint) as Jack tries to recruit him. Eddie gets angry and goes away.
January 1983. Eddie starts becoming addicted to cocaine with Todd Parker. While being high, Eddie sees Amber talking to Johnny and this gets Eddie furious. He tries to get a hard-on but the drugs seem to take effect and he doesn't achieve a boner. The drugs also seem to change his mood. He tries to attack Johnny, but when Jack tries to stop him, Eddie tries to attack Jack as well. However, Eddie starts to act more violent and this gets him fired.
March 1983 - Sound City Recording Studios. Eddie is trying to pursue a singing career and is recording a song. He also tries to practice with Reed but we realise that his vocals is quite horrible. We see the rise of Johnny Doe's career as well. Rollergirl and Amber starts to snort cocaine. Rollergirl decides to attain the G.E.D. (General Educational Development) and to graduate from high school. Amber says that she misses her two sons (one being Eddie) while Rollergirl calls Amber her mother. Todd brings a bag of cocaine and Reed and Eddie decide to snort it. Reed and Eddie also go to the studio to attain the tapes but they're refused to get it until they get the money. Buck and Jessie, who we now presume are married, decides to get a loan because Buck wants to start his business. However, they do not get the loan since they both "endorse" pornography and the loan company doesn't want to interfere in their matters. Amber is seen in a custody battle with her ex-husband but the court determines she is an unfit mother due to her involvement in the porn industry, her prior criminal record and her addiction to cocaine. Amber is later seen crying.
December 11th, 1983. Jack tries to revitalize his career by starting a new show called "On The Lookout". This involves Rollergirl to ride with him in a limousine while they search for men to have sex with her so that they can film it. Eddie is then picked up by a stranger who asks him to jerk off for ten dollars. Eddie accepts the stranger's offer. Jack picks up a stranger named Joe (Brad Braeden) but he later insults Rollergirl by shamelessly abusing her and rudely tells Jack that his movies aren't good anymore. Eddie tries to masturbate but cannot do so. Suddenly, a gang drives up and Joe and them starts to beat him up heavily in a homophobic assault while the gang call him "faggot" and "piece of shit". Jack and Rollergirl also stop and beat him recklessly. Buck and Jessie (who is now pregnant) stop their car and Buck goes to purchase some donuts. Suddenly, a thief comes and tries to steal the money. While the clerk reveals the money from the safe, a customer slowly wields his gun from his holster and shoots the thief. Hilariously, the thief shoots the customer and the customer shoots the clerk. Seeing that no one is there, the blood-covered Buck takes the money.
Long Way Down (One Last Thing). Desperate for money, Todd decides to steal cash from a drug dealer named Rahad Jackson (Alfred Molina). They try to fool him by selling him a half-kilo of baking soda disguised as cocaine for $5,000. Todd also shows the guys that he's carrying a gun, in case things go awry. In Rahad's house, Rahad openly welcomes them and buys the cocaine while a bodyguard decides to check it out. Rahad is also listening to 'Singer Christian' by Night Ranger as Rahad shares his opinion on track lists. Reed and Eddie wants to count the money in the car but Todd refuses to listen to them. Rahad then listens to Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl' as he karoakes along. Reed and Eddie decide to no longer wait and ask Todd to leave but Todd asks Rahad to get whatever is in the safe in Rahad's bedroom. When Todd points the gun, the bodyguard shoots his shoulder while Todd shoots him back. Rahad hides in the bedroom. When Todd kicks the door open, Rahad kills him with a shotgun and tries to chase Reed and Eddie. Eddie takes the Corvette that he drove to Rahad's house while Reed runs away somewhere else.
Next day, early morning. Eddie decides it's time he goes to Jack's mansion after the frightening experience. He reconciles with Jack while Jack forgives him. Eddie is still terrified and tries to rest on Amber's lap. We later see that Buck now has a new store from the money that he stole at the donut shop. Rollergirl is seen doing an exam while the Colonel is beaten up by a prison inmate. Maurice opens up a new club but realises that there is a spelling error in it. Reed pursues his role as a magician. Jessie is seen delivering a baby boy while Scotty films it.
We are then directed to Jack's house. Jack tells Rollergirl to tidy her room. Reed tries to play with Buck's and Jessie's baby on the pool while Jack shows concerns on whether he'll urinate on the pool or not. Jack also argues with Buck that he wants a "mellow" hi-fi system. Jack then goes to Amber's room and asks her if she's ready or not. This shows us that they are all now a part of a happy family. Eventually, Eddie's practising his lines with a mirror. He then zips his pants down to reveal his 13-inch penis. [TeH_VeRdiKT]
