In the lower-middle-class Adams family, father and son are happy to work in a drugstore, but mother and daughter Alice try every possible social-climbing stratagem despite snubs and embarrassment. When Alice finally meets her dream man Arthur, mother nags father into a risky business venture and plans to impress Alice's beau with an "upscale" family dinner. Will the excruciating results drive Arthur away?

Tom invites Toots to an elegant dinner. However, he's made the mistake of trying to put Jerry to work, as a serving boy, a corkscrew, and other tasks. Jerry puts up with a little of this, but mostly gets revenge on Tom.

When Bert Adams brings his boss, Mr. Mason, home for dinner, he and his wife Carrie hope Mason will take the opportunity to announce that Bert will be promoted to fill a new vacancy in the company's shipping department. But Mr. Mason has other plans for that vacancy, and for Bert.

BEEF tells the story of an BBQ evening hosted by Marc, a somewhat peculiar perfectionist. Everything is planned to be meticulous. The serviettes matching with the plastic cutlery and cups - and of course the guests. His ex-girlfriend (who brings her new boyfriend along), two sisters (the one has a crush on Marc and the other is a Vegetarian!) and two strange men (one of whom seems to fancy Marc and the other just quietly digs into the food). Everything could have been so perfect, as Marc had planned - but the guests end up ridiculing Marc and reduce the host to a servant, but they forget that he who laughs last...