Molly Gunn is a young woman living off the ample
trust fund of her late
rock star father, Tommy Gunn, who died in a
plane crash alongside Molly's mother when she was a child. Molly falls for singer Neal Fox when he plays at her birthday party, thrown by her best friends Huey and Ingrid. Molly and Neal spend days and nights of passion sequestered in her apartment, until Neal leaves abruptly and says that he cannot be a part of her disordered life. She later discovers that Tommy's accountant has embezzled her money, leaving her penniless and homeless. She moves in with Ingrid, on the condition that Molly finds a job. She begins working as a
nanny for 8-year-old Lorraine "Ray" Schleine, who exhibits obsessive
hypochondriac behaviors. Ray's mother, Roma, a wealthy music executive, is completely uninvolved in her daughter's life. Ray's father is in a
coma induced by a
stroke, and is being treated at home by a private nurse, which causes Ray to repress her emotions and maintain a strict regimen of orderliness. Despite enjoying
ballet, Ray refuses to freestyle and often quotes
Mikhail Baryshnikov: "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun." Molly attempts to show her how to have fun, which at first causes conflict between them, but eventually Ray begins to bring her guard down. Molly continues to pursue Neal and holds onto his lucky jacket in hopes of seeing him again. After a baking accident, Molly causes a fire that damages Neal's jacket. She redesigns it to fix the damage, but Neal breaks up with Molly when he sees it, insisting that he has to focus on his music career and does not have time for her flightiness. He soon lands a record deal with Roma and has a hit music video with a song that Molly inspired him to write, all while wearing the jacket Molly made. Disgusted, Molly agrees to Ingrid's suggestions to sell off her possessions so she can prove that she is growing up. However, after a fight, Ingrid kicks Molly out, and Molly goes to live with Huey. One night, after fighting with and feeling hurt by Neal again, Molly sleeps at Ray's place after feeling alone at Huey's apartment and finds Neal one morning, having had sex with Roma. Molly takes Ray to
Coney Island and explains that when her parents died, she fled to Coney Island and rode the
tea cups. She encourages Ray to talk to her comatose father, and promises that it will help him improve. However, Ray's father dies the next day, and Ray orders Roma to fire Molly. In Roma's office, Molly chides her for emotionally neglecting Ray. As she leaves, Molly runs into Neal, who begs for a reconciliation, claiming that Molly is his
muse. Molly turns Neal down and admonishes him for only caring about her when it is convenient for him. Ray runs away from home and Roma begs Molly to find her. Molly finds Ray at Coney Island, riding in the tea cups. Despite being furious with Molly for raising her hopes, she collapses into Molly's arms, crying. Molly, deciding to take charge of her own life, takes Ray's advice to auction off Tommy's guitar collection to an anonymous buyer; this enables her to afford her own apartment. At the wake for Ray's father, several musicians ask Molly to design their clothes after seeing Neal's jacket in his video. She and Ingrid also make amends and Molly finds Ray to apologize as well. She promises to stay friends with Ray and enrolls in design school after realizing her talent for fashion. Molly arrives at Ray's recital late and is pleased to see that Ray is wearing the tutu Molly designed for her. Ray dances freestyle to Neal singing "Molly Smiles", a song written for her by Tommy when she was a child. He plays using Tommy's acoustic guitar, while the remaining ballerinas dance with the other guitars from her father's collection. The loving interaction between Ray and her mother suggests that the Schleines were the anonymous buyer of Molly's guitars. ==Cast==