Arthur Gelb

Buddy Young was the comic's comic, beloved by everyone. Now, playing to miniscule crowds in nursing homes, it seems like everybody but Buddy realizes that he should retire. As Buddy looks for work in show business, he realizes that the rest of the world has forgotten the golden days of Buddy Young, and that there just may not be room in the business for an old comic like himself.

Fledgling comic Benjy Stone can't believe his luck when his childhood hero, the swashbuckling matinee idol Alan Swann, gets booked to appear on the variety show he writes for. But when Swann arrives, he fails to live up to his silver screen image. Instead, he's a drunken womanizer who suffers from stage fright. Benjy is assigned to look after him before the show, and it's all he can do to keep his former idol from going completely off the rails.

1997年のアメリカ。世の中は文明に犯され、町には暴力が氾濫し、かつては世界の若者の憧れの地であったニューヨークは、今や巨大な監獄と化していた。そこには全米の囚人300万人が放たれ、夢も希望もない生活を送っていた。マンハッタン島の周囲は高い壁が巡らされ、全ての川には電流が流れ、常に上空をヘリコプターが旋回し、自由の女神像はリバティーアイランド・セキュリティー・コントロールと呼ばれる監視塔となっていた。