In Glendalle, New York (that's how it was spelled on the envelope), Virginia's husband dies. Her spoiled but wild-looking sister Blithe, whose husband Samuel is a plastic surgeon, attends the funeral, even though the sisters don't get along.
Virginia's teenage son Pete goes back to school, though he's reluctant because his mother is having a hard time coping.
With Virginia depressed and drinking, Blithe insists her sister come and stay in her fabulous house with its perfect lawn. Virginia finally agrees. While she is there, Samuel looks at her inappropriately, which is hard to understand because Virginia looks so plain and acts so depressed. Don't worry, all that will change! Blithe doesn't seem to know about her husband's desires, but she has the solution for both of them. Yes, Blithe has reasons to be unhappy, believe it or not, but she hides it well. She's the fun-loving sister.
Road trip!
Okay, they're not exactly Thelma and Louise. But they do have fun and Virginia occasionally smiles. The red Mustang convertible, in the "new" style that resembles the original, looks great.
Blithe has two objectives--it is time for Virginia's high school reunion, which she would have never attended on her own, and Blithe wants to visit her ex-husband Hank. So it's back to the old, boring home town. It's no wonder Hank is Blithe's ex--to look at his house and his lawn, one would wonder if anyone lived there. Hank is a photographer and he lives in a beautiful country location, but for a shallow suburbanite like Blithe, that won't be enough. And yet the two still seem to have feelings for each other.
I'm not sure what the title refers to. I guess each sister drives the other crazy; they're kind of an Odd Couple--one strait-laced and conservative and the other just trying to enjoy life.
It's not all fun. There's a lot of discussion of problems with both sisters' lives, and a lot of depressing stuff, but there are just enough laughs. And the girls are pretty. Well, Virginia is eventually. Blithe looks good from the start, if you like the truck-stop waitress look enhanced by a surgeon's money.
It's just pleasant enough to be enjoyable.
