Humble Pie

Tracy Orbison (Hubbel Palmer) is an earnest dreamer whose quest to be somebody fuels a series of tragicomic adventures.

Tracy works a dead-end job as a grocery store clerk in a drab slice of strip - mall America but believes he's found a way out when the acting bug bites. He falls under the spell of Z - list actor Truman Hope (The Squid and the Whale's William Baldwin), only to become disillusioned after glimpsing Hope's true character. A friendship with bagboy Kendis Cooley (Vincent Caso) leads to Tracy's next project: reforming a gang of surly, teenaged deadbeats. But again, Tracy's efforts fall short of his fantasies.

Tracy's home life offers little solace, with Agnes, his God-fearing, self-loathing mother (Kathleen Quinlan), ruling the roost and sister Peggy (Lynn Rajskub) looking for someone to love. Trough it all, Tracy struggles to pass his driver's license exam, lose "about ten pounds" and win fame beyound his working-class job.