Jeffrey Willis (Matt Dillon) thinks that it is going to be another long, lazy and hot summer in his boring Brooklyn neighborhood. While sitting on the sidewalk waiting for something to do, Jeffrey's old friends Steve (Brian McNamara) and Hawk (Fisher Stevens) pull up in a snazzy convertible. Steve and Hawk's families left the grubby neighborhood a few years ago and are now living comfortably in affluent Rockaway. Avid Gin Rummy players, the boys need a fourth to round out their card game and immediately thought of Jeffrey. When Steve and Hawk invite Jeffrey to the El Flamingo, the fancy beach club they belong to, Jeffrey jumps at the chance.
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Jeffrey has a wonderful, fun-filled day playing Gin, swimming, dining on a delicious buffet and ogling beautiful, bikini-clad girls. As well as meeting snobbish card-player Alfred (Bronson Pinchot), Steve introduces Jeffrey to his wealthy girlfriend Joyce Brody (Carole Davis), Joyce's haughty mother Phyllis (Jessica Walter) and Joyce's stunning cousin visiting from California, Carla (Janet Jones). While exchanging pleasantries, Jeffrey notices a group of older men playing cards. When Jeffrey inquires, his friends explain that the men are serious card-players competing for big money. One of the men playing is Joyce's father Phil Brody (Richard Crenna). As the perfect day ends, Jeffrey tells Steve that he would like to come to the El Flamingo again. Steve admits that it is expensive to bring a guest. Disappointed, Jeffrey soon intervenes when a club member experiences car trouble. Impressed with his mechanical skills, the parking lot supervisor offers Jeffrey a job as a valet for the rest of the summer. Back home in Brooklyn, Jeffrey is full of excitement about his new job. His hard-working plumber father, Arthur (Hector Elizondo), is a bit perplexed as Jeffrey already has a job as an “errand boy“. Jeffrey explains that he will be making more money as a valet and Arthur decides to let things lie … for now.
Jeffrey is soon enjoying his valet job and is happy to be working alongside Fortune (Leon Robinson), a personable young man who has aspirations of attending Notre Dame in the fall. Jeffrey also relishes the occasions he meets up with Carla at the club and when she invites him to dinner at the extravagant Brody Mansion, he readily accepts. Before dinner, Steve and Jeffrey talk with Phil Brody in the den. Quickly bored by brown-nosing Steve, Phil sends him away, turning the charm on Jeffrey. An extremely nervous Jeffrey compliments Phil on his exceptional card-playing abilities. Flattered, Phil offers to show Jeffrey a thing or two about Gin. Before long, the two men are bonding, laughing heartily and slapping one another on the back. During an awkward dinner - with Jeffrey not knowing which silverware to use or what aspic is - Phil, clearly taken with Jeffrey and a co-owner of the El Flamingo, offers him a prestigious new job … Cabana Boy. Jeffrey will now have a front row seat during Phil's card games, fetching drinks and catering to whatever the players need.
Jeffrey and Phil continue to grow closer, with Phil generously offering Jeffrey yet another exclusive job … selling luxury sports cars whenever Jeffrey is ready. Meanwhile, Arthur is becoming increasingly jealous of the amount of time Jeffrey spends with the elusive Mr. Brody. After finding expensive gifts hidden in Jeffrey's dresser drawer, the Willis Family decides to surprise Jeffrey at work, to see how the glamorous half lives. Embarrassed by his modest family, Jeffrey tries to usher them away. Arthur invites Jeffrey to have dinner with the family but Jeffrey declines, having made plans with friends to go to the racetrack. After a late night snack at a diner turns into an arrest, Arthur picks up Jeffrey from jail. Hurt, confused and angry, Arthur and Jeffrey have an intense argument, resulting in Jeffrey moving into a cabana at the El Flamingo. When Jeffrey tells Phil that he is now ready to sell sports cars, a distracted Phil tries to give him the brush-off. Jeffrey soon discovers that the job Phil really had in mind was more along the lines of a stock boy. Feeling dejected and deceived, Jeffrey begins to look at his buddy in a new light.
The review of this Movie prepared by Tara Dugan
