Paul Thomas Anderson

Elizabeth attempts to set her brother Barry up on a date while simultaneously confronting him about his mental health. Barry becomes increasingly defensive and anxious as Elizabeth pushes him to address rumors that he is seeking professional help.

Barry confides in his co-worker Lance about a vague 'trouble' he's in and his impulsive plan to fly to Hawaii. He obsessively focuses on his frequent flyer mile pudding scheme while pleading with Lance to keep his travel plans a secret from his overbearing sisters.

A socially anxious and lonely man named Barry calls a phone sex line for the first time. He is visibly nervous and paranoid about his privacy, attempting to use a pseudonym while simultaneously providing his real social security number and address to the operator.

A lonely small-business owner engages in a phone sex call only to be contacted the next morning by the woman, who attempts to extort him for rent money. Barry's initial awkwardness turns to genuine fear when she reveals she has his personal information and threatens to contact his family.

Barry attempts to purchase a massive quantity of individual pudding cups to exploit a frequent flyer mile loophole. He faces the frustration and skepticism of a grocery store clerk while struggling with his own social anxiety and desperation.

Barry approaches his brother-in-law Walter in a moment of extreme vulnerability, seeking professional psychological help. He struggles to articulate his emotional instability and loneliness, eventually breaking down in tears while pleading for confidentiality from his overbearing family.

After a sudden outburst of destructive rage, Barry attempts to gaslight a restaurant manager about the damage he caused to a bathroom stall. The scene highlights Barry's social anxiety and his desperate, childlike attempts to avoid consequences despite his bleeding hand and obvious guilt.

Barry explains an elaborate frequent flyer mile loophole involving Healthy Choice pudding to his date, Lena. As he realizes how eccentric he sounds, he begins to backtrack and lie about his involvement to avoid judgment.

Barry calls his sister Elizabeth to find out where Lena is staying in Hawaii, but his social anxiety and her constant belittling push him to a breaking point. The scene escalates from a clumsy lie about a forgotten purse to a desperate, explosive plea for basic respect and information.

Barry is confronted outside his apartment by a group of brothers attempting to extort him over a phone sex line incident. The scene escalates from a tense conversation to physical intimidation as they pressure him to withdraw his maximum daily limit from a nearby ATM.

In a hotel room, Barry and Lena share an intimate moment that escalates into a bizarre exchange of 'cute aggression.' They express their intense affection for one another through increasingly violent and surreal metaphors, finding a unique and unsettling common ground in their shared eccentricity.

Officer Jim Kurring responds to a disturbance call at an apartment, where he encounters a defensive and hostile woman named Marcie. The routine investigation quickly escalates when Jim discovers a dead body hidden in her bedroom closet.

A high-stakes interview between a charismatic pick-up artist and a journalist turns cold when she confronts him about his fabricated past and his mother's death. Frank's bravado crumbles into a defensive silence as his carefully constructed persona is dismantled.

A dying man on his deathbed confesses his deep-seated regrets and past infidelities to his nurse. He recounts the toxic way he treated his late wife, Lily, and the guilt of abandoning his son during her terminal illness.

Officer Jim Kurring finishes a call at Claudia's apartment and, despite the professional conflict and her obvious personal struggles, finds the courage to return to her door and ask her out on a date.

Officer Jim Kurring drives his squad car alone, reflecting on the difficulties of police work and his earnest desire to be a 'good' person and help people despite the constant 'bad news' of the job.