April Burns is a windy 21-year-old girl with a very big problem. Begrudgingly she invites her unusual family for dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Her boyfriend Bobby really wanted to help her prepare dinner, but she drove him out. Deciding to cook the traditional turkey, April discovers that on "the law of meanness", her oven does not work. And the girl has to ask her very eccentric neighbors for help in preparing the turkey. Meanwhile, the Burns family begins its journey from the province of Pennsylvania to New York. April's Dad, Jim Burns, tries to convince the family that the day will be fine. However, the girl's mother, Joy, has serious doubts about this and willingly express them aloud. A teenage sister and a younger brother are also not too keen on this journey, being trapped in the backseat of the car between the granny and bags of food for the journey. And while the Burns' car is approaching New York, passions run high inside it.