In an seemingly perfect American suburb, Lester Burnham, a middle-aged man trapped in a monotonous routine, decides to break free from the expectations society has of him. Tedious and disillusioned with his work life and his marriage to Carolyn, an obsessive businesswoman, Lester begins to experience an existential crisis. As dissatisfaction accumulates, his attention shifts to Angela, his daughter Jane's best friend, a carefree teenager who scorns adult routine.
Lester decides to rediscover himself through a series of impulsive choices that not only alter his life but also those around him. He feels rejuvenated by writing a resignation letter to his job and seeks freedom through his new lifestyle, which includes desiring young Angela and letting go of the image of a conventional father and husband. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane grapples with her own adolescent struggles, feeling her father become increasingly strange.
The suburban environment, with its façade of perfection, hides dark secrets and family tensions. As the characters confront their hidden truths, the story explores themes of desire, loss of identity, hypocrisy, and the search for beauty in the simplest things. Everything builds towards a tragic conclusion that reconfigures perceptions of what it truly means to "be happy."