In an afterlife way station resembling a major city, the lives of the recently-deceased are examined in a court-like setting.

A neurotic, twice-divorced sci-fi writer moves back in with his mother to solve his personal problems.

With his career on the skids, a Hollywood screenwriter enlists the aid of a modern-day muse, who proves to test his patience.

To improve its relations with Muslim countries, the United States government sends comedian Albert Brooks to south Asia to write a report on what makes followers of Islam laugh.