The Savage family discovers that yet another housekeeper has quit and, while the boys see this as their dad's opportunity to hire a cute French maid, Nick decides it's time his boys learn how to take care of themselves. Stunned, the boys decide that they need a plan to change their dad's mind.

It's progress report time at school, and while the Savage boys – with the exception of Sam – are far from straight A students, Nick can't ignore the fact that Chris is failing five classes this year. The greatest shock is that studious Sam is failing a class, and when the guys find out it's gym, he becomes the butt of everyone's humor in this jock-filled household. When Sam agrees to tutor Chris so he won't be kicked off the football team in exchange for the coach giving him a passing grade in P.E., Sam soon realizes he got the short end of the rope.

Eager to earn money to buy Christmas gifts for their girlfriends, the three older boys find jobs at a lingerie store, but their jobs turn out to be less than glamorous and tensions arise when Sam gets promoted and Chris and Jack are left to do the grunt work. Meanwhile the two younger boys, Evan and T.J., are less than thrilled when Nick puts them to work helping with the fire station's annual toy drive for needy kids.

The boys administer their own form of CPR – complete with bicycle pump and toilet plunger – on Old Lady Riley when she has a heart attack on their doorstep, and are then wrongfully lauded as heroes. But when they're awarded the "Caring Kid Award," it's just too much to take for one onlooker who happens to know the truth.