A misanthropic, benign con artist fumbles his way through life and love as he overcomes peculiar obstacles in modern America.
"American Sampler" is a most unlikely comedy about a young man, Joe Ellis, whose desultory life is interrupted when Suzy, the girl down the hall, leaves a fruit basket at his door for Christmas. Joe is left with a conundrum: he hates fresh fruit, he has no use for baskets, and he has no idea how to thank someone for something he doesn’t want or need.
Thus sets in motion a madcap tour of the American psyche, as Joe confronts a whole host of crippling fetishes, self-deceptions, questionable psychological conditions, unapologetic biases and even a troubling past to get to some painful truths:
Who is the real Joe Ellis? Why does he want a blow job so badly? How does his mother’s previous life as a Broadway actress figure into it? Or the long-dead star of the 70’s horror flick "Charred Remains" – the great Chuck Masters? Or canned fruit and hotdogs? And why is it inexplicably snowing in the middle of May?