In
New York City, aspiring
actor Harold "Harry" Monroe is fired from his job as a waiter when cooks accidentally use his stash of
marijuana as
oregano at a dinner party. His friend, aspiring
playwright Skipper "Skip" Donahue, is also fired from his job as a
store detective when he incorrectly accuses Susan, a shopper, of
shoplifting. Skip, the optimist of the two, spins their shared unemployment positively and convinces Harry that they should leave New York City and move to
Hollywood. Soon after, they head west in a battered
Dodge camper van. In Arizona, Skip gets the pair a gig performing a song and dance routine dressed in
woodpecker costumes as a promotion for a bank. While they are on a break, two other men steal the costumes and rob the bank, and Harry and Skip are arrested and convicted of the crime. They are given 125-year sentences and sent to a maximum-security correctional facility. The pair are advised by their court-appointed lawyer, Len Garber, to wait until their case is reviewed. In prison, after a failed effort of faking insanity, they make friends with bank robber Jesus Ramirez and openly-
gay Rory Schultebrand, who killed his stepfather. After three months, Skip and Harry visit Warden Walter Beatty and Deputy Warden Ward Wilson, the head guard, with a list of grievances. The unsympathetic Wilson orders Skip to ride a
mechanical bull, and, to everyone's surprise, Skip is able to ride the bull at full power. Beatty immediately orders Wilson to "invite" Skip to compete in the prison's annual rodeo competition. Jesus and Rory inform Harry and Skip that the rodeo is a crooked operation run by Beatty and the neighboring prison: the money from the rodeo, which is supposed to go to the prisoners, ends up in the wardens' pockets. However, the four hatch a plan for escape involving Skip refusing to participate until Beatty provides concessions. They warn Skip that he will be tortured by Beatty, but Skip manages to withstand the abuse, including a week in the "hot box" and he and Harry being forced to share a cell with hulking, seemingly-mute mass murderer Grossberger. Harry and Skip are visited by Garber, who introduces them to his law partner, his cousin Meredith, to whom Skip is immediately attracted. Later, Skip meets with Beatty to make a deal: In exchange for his rodeo participation, Skip requests his own crew (Harry, Jesus, Rory and Grossberger), along with a shared cell for the five of them, and various other amenities. Beatty agrees, later ordering Wilson to have a guard watch them at all times. Wilson orders his inmate colleague, former rodeo champion Jack Graham, to monitor Skip and his team, and assures Graham that Skip will not survive the rodeo. Skip, Harry, Jesus, Rory and Grossberger acquire tools they need for their escape; meanwhile, Meredith gets a job as a waitress in a local
strip club searching for possible suspects and encounters the real bank robbers. At the rodeo stadium, every member of Skip's team but Grossberger retreats through a secret path, taking them through air vents to be met by either Jesus's wife Teresa or brother Ramon. Once through, they put on their disguises and re-enter the grounds as audience members. Skip ends up in a tie with rival champion Caesar Geronimo, and the two enter a "sudden death" event to win the prize: a bag of money tied to the horns of a large
Brahman bull. Skip suggests that they work together and give the money to the prisoners; while Skip distracts the bull, Caesar wins and throws the bag to the inmates, enraging Beatty and Wilson and allowing Skip the opportunity to escape. At a secret meeting spot, Jesus and Rory bid Harry and Skip farewell as they leave for Mexico. Harry and Skip get in their car but are intercepted by Garber and Meredith. She tells Harry and Skip that the police have finally arrested the real bank robbers, and the pair decide to return to their original idea of going to Hollywood. Skip asks Meredith to go with them, and she agrees. == Cast ==