Bob McGraw is in his 12th year of college, goofing his way through life. Bob, Irwing, Gonzer and Max are the four losers forced and bribed to represent their university in an intercollegiate raft race. Forced and bribed into this role, they make some friends, the lovely Heather Merriweather, but mostly enemies, among others a whole team of marines, and preppy IVY-leaguers determined to win.
Two young hitchhikers are picked up a speed-crazed young woman, who tears around the countryside. She leaves them to take the blame for her activities, and they find themselves sentenced to six months in prison. The girl, feeling bad about what she did to them, resolves to break them out of the prison
Warren Stacy, an office equipment repairman, begins murdering women after they reject his advances. To minimize the evidence, Stacy always kills while naked, wearing nothing but gloves, and further evades the law with his strong alibis. Veteran detective Leo Kessler is convinced of Stacy's guilt and begins using questionable methods to catch him.
A group of celebrants find themselves trapped in an amusement park that is being torn apart by a hurricane during a Fourth of July holiday. The real Ocean View Park in Norfolk, Virginia, scheduled for demolition by the city, actually was blown up and burned down during the filming.