Da den 13-årige dreng Jakes bedstefar dør, flytter familien fra Manhattan og ind i farens gamle hjem i Brooklyn. Her møder Jake den karismatiske dreng Tony, hvis chilenske alenemor Leonor er skrædder og ejer butikken nedenunder. Der går dog ikke længe, før Jakes forældre Brian og Kathy – den ene en betrængt skuespiller og den anden psykoterapeut – beder Leonor om at underskrive en ny, strammere lejekontrakt. Noget der hurtigt skaber splid mellem de to parter. På trods af deres forældres uoverensstemmelser opbygger Jake og Tony et stærkt venskab. Men lidt efter lidt begynder forældrekonflikten at sætte sit præg på drengenes venskab.
Angela and Jessie are best friends intent on taking a wild beach trip, but when their roommate loses all their money in a drug scam, the girls—blissfully stoned—go to increasingly daring and absurd lengths to get it back.
A young playwright spends his last cent to pay the past-due rent for the pretty dancer who's his boarding house next-door neighbor. Soon after, he winds up at a gambling club, where he wins big - just before a police raid.
June never leaves her apartment, which has a view of an advertising sign of a knight in shining armor. She is two weeks behind in her rent and believes that if she leaves the apartment, the landlord will never let her back in. The only way she gets food is when her friend, singer Earlayne Schools, brings it to her. One evening June sees Hal, a tap-dancing sign painter, painting over her knight. She explains her predicament, and he does his best to help her out.