This is a rare, sensitive movie about middle age men at crossroads in their lives. As a youngster in the 1960s, John Goodman was a roughneck boy who accidentally gave a young girl a real shiner of a black eye in a contact sport. He learns to like her when they meet again at a dancing and charm school. They promise to meet at the dance school on "…the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth year, after the millennium." On the way to that appointment, Goodman is injured in a car crash, and Robert Carlyle ("The Full Monty") makes the 911 call and is told by paramedics to keep Goodman talking until help arrives.

Carlyle, a dejected widower, is asked to ride with Goodman in the ambulance. Goodman shares his story and asks Carlyle to make the trip in his place. This leads to a path that allows Carlyle to effectively deal with the recent death of his wife. This very charming movie has an outstanding cast with actors Adam Arkan, Ernie Hudson, Marisa Tomei, Danny DeVito, Sean Astin, and Mary Steenburgen.