Melvin Udall er forfatter og sådan cirka det mest usympatiske menneske, der har betrådt denne jord. Han hader ALLE: Bøsser, gamle damer, hundehvalpe, negere og jøder med store næser. Begrebet ”politisk ukorrekt” blev opfundet for at beskrive mennesker som Melvin. Hver dag indtager han en kolesterolbombe af en morgenmad på en café, hvor kun én servitrice vil servere for ham – men også hende får han gjort godt gal i skralden! Så kommer genboen – der tilfældigvis er bøsse og hundeejer – på hospitalet, og der er ingen anden end Melvin til at tage sig af den lille ”tæppetisser”. Og snart begynder en lavine af ting at vælte ned over Melvin – og vende op og ned på hans liv. Om det bli´r bedre? Se selv hvis din mave kan tåle latterkramper.
Joan Wilder er en følsom forfatter, der skriver de mest romantiske eventyr. Eventyreren Jack Colton er en mere kontant type. Det umage par ramler sammen i Colombias jungle, og snart går det over stok og sten i den hektiske jagt på en kæmpesmaragd.
Jack har fået sin fede båd og sin Joan. Men Joan keder sig og betænker sig ikke da den stenrige sheik Omar inviterer hende til ørkenlandet. Jack bliver hjemme og surmuler, men da Joan kommer ud i noget snavs, kommer han selvfølgelig til undsætning
Gus is a fat cartoonist that recently won a battle against cancer, which explains his baldness. But he is also lonely. Therefore, his caring sister tries to set him up with suitable woman. But to do so, she must turn him into an irresistible man. When he falls in love with Emily, Gus takes the identity of a mysterious biker from New Zealand.
When Ethan arrives at the airport just in time to declare his undying love for his girlfriend, love appears to have conquered all. The scene, however, is really the ending of Ethan's novel, which his agent calls "unrealistic." Ethan soon meets a waitress, Jesse, and falls in love with her despite her growing devotion to Troy, a charming businessman. But the line between reality and fiction becomes increasingly blurred.
Romantic novelist Edith Hope so horrifies her friends that they banish her to the solitude of a Swiss hotel. She decides to work out her exile by observing her fellow guests.
A aspiring novelist operates a tiny neighborhood bookstore. His wife is a talented painter. Their marriage is disintegrating, and they are about to sign their divorce papers. Meanwhile, the legendary Casanova and his lover Lavinia are characters trapped inside of a 17th-century children's book. The tragedy of the impending divorce triggers the release of Casanova and Lavinia from the confines of the children's pop-up book.