Following the loss of his mother in a car crash, high school freshman T.J. and his father fall into depression. T.J. becomes obsessed with the car his mother died in and follows it when it is towed away. He and his passive, pill-taking father Paul live with T.J.'s grandmother Madeleine, where they are soon joined by a squatter, Hesher, a vulgar, foul-mouthed
heavy metal-loving lout with no concern for social conventions. Dustin, a bully from the towing service, finds his car vandalized and blames T.J., who is saved by Nicole, a grocery store clerk. Hesher witnesses Dustin attacking T.J. at school, but does nothing. Later, Hesher sets Dustin's car on fire, leading to police questioning T.J. T.J. spies on Nicole at the grocery store, as he likes her. When she causes a fender-bender, Hesher comes to her rescue. That night, T.J. and Paul get into an argument. Hesher bonds with Madeleine and says he will join her on her morning walk, but the next morning, he finds her dead. The death affects all three men in the house and Hesher storms out. T.J. takes money to buy his parents' car back, but it is gone. He decides to give the money to Nicole for her financial troubles, but finds her in her apartment, having sex with Hesher. He damages Hesher's van in response and yells that he does not want to see either of them again. T.J. sneaks into Dustin's house and threatens him, asking where the car went. He finds out the car was taken to be crushed. Dustin attacks T.J. until Hesher arrives and injures Dustin in defense. Upset that Hesher hurt Dustin, T.J. flees and goes to the junkyard. He climbs into the wrecked car and dreams of his mother's death, waking when the car is moved to be crushed. While getting ready for his grandmother's funeral, Nicole comes and apologizes to T.J. for hurting his feelings. At the funeral, Hesher walks in drunk and monologues about how when he was younger he blew up the gas tank of a car and shrapnel destroyed one of his
testicles. He got caught up in the loss of his testicle, focusing on it so much he forgot he still had a right testicle and working penis. He draws the parallel to T.J.'s situation, implying that even though they lost their wife and mother, the father and son still have each other. He then announces that he promised Grandma he would go on a walk with her and pushes the casket down the road. Shocked at first, T.J. and Paul eventually join Hesher on the walk. The next day, Paul shaves for the first time in weeks and tells T.J. that Hesher is gone. He then shows T.J. the compacted remains of his mother's car, which Hesher has left in the driveway. On the roof of the house, Hesher has spray painted in huge white letters, "Hesher was here". ==Cast==