Based on a play by David Rabe, Hurlyburly is about the intersecting lives of several Hollywood players and wannabes, whose dysfunctional personal lives are more interesting than anything they're peddling to the studios.
In 1970, a few days before Christmas, Elvis Presley showed up on the White House lawn seeking to be deputized into the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs by the President himself.
Dr. Middling is a dentist longing for adventure, while his "saucy wench" of an assistant tries to take him out for drinks. He finally finds his adventure when a pirate named Jasper Crow comes complaining of tooth pain. Afraid of needles, Dr. Middling resorts to irrational measures to help ease the pain. After he completes his job, Crow leaves, leaving Dr. Middling yearning of adventure satisfied and decides to go out for drinks- only to find out he has a lot more patients to treat.
A troubled young man, Li faces pressure at work and problems at home with his moody wife. Chuck, rescues Li from the brink of despair and becomes an unlikely mentor. But who is Chuck really?
Three salesmen working for a firm that makes industrial lubricants are waiting in the company's "hospitality suite" at a manufacturers' convention for a "big kahuna" named Dick Fuller to show up, in hopes they can persuade him to place an order that could salvage the company's flagging sales.
Nearly a decade after a faulty product landed him in prison, an arrogant inventor is determined to restore his reputation and rebuild his fortune. But first, he has to convince his estranged daughter that he's worthy of a second chance.
Michael Lynch is a notorious criminal with two wives and a flair for showmanship. He's also a huge embarrassment to the local police, who are determined to bring him down once and for all.
Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.
Faraday is a weirdo telepath who is starting to lose his faith in the paranormal. His girlfriend, Diana, is a blogger whose highest aspiration in life is to be famous on the internet. When they decide to move in together they opt for a suspiciously cheap flat which turns out to be haunted.
A girl and a boy meet in a restaurant. They don't know each other. They start a meal that will take them through all the phases of a romantic relationship.