Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) is a single father and high school English teacher whose biggest fear is that he will one day end up all alone. He dreams of becoming a famous writer, but his previous novels have all been rejected by publishers. His 15-year-old son Kyle (Daryl Sabara) is a pornography-obsessed underachiever who despises and is annoyed by everyone, especially his father.<ref name="sundance"></ref> Kyle is a student at the school where Lance teaches an unpopular poetry class. His only friend is Andrew, a fellow student who spends his evenings at the Claytons' house trying to avoid his Alcoholism mother. Kyle's consistently poor academic performance and vile behavior gain the attention of the school principal (Geoff Pierson), who advises Lance that Kyle should transfer to a special-needs school. Lance is in a non-committal relationship with a younger teacher named Claire (Alexie Gilmore), who is spending time with a fellow teacher named Mike (Henry Simmons), whose writing class is more successful than Lance's. On nights when Claire cancels their dates and he is alone, Lance bonds with his elderly neighbor Bonnie (Mitzi McCall).