SYNOPSIS:

What could be simpler than buying a plain headstone to comply with your mother's dying wish? But this simple request turns into a never-ending nightmare when Daniel Franken faces a host of avaricious stonemasons who believe they can make more money using the same stone to make a fancy headstone. So his chances are slim to none. But if he doesn't buy a headstone soon he will become a pariah in the eyes of his family. Daniel's acerbic aunt, Miriam, does not believe Daniel will come through, so she buys her own headstone -- complete with filigrees and cherubs and seraphs -- and also announces a date for its unveiling. Daniel tries to get her to cancel the order but she won't budge. The other family members do not wish to be one-upped by Miriam, so they each set out to buy their own headstones. Daniel finally locates a stonemason who will make him a plain headstone, but the owner is not Jewish. After much head squeezing Daniel decides that stones have no religion and gives the stonemason the green light. But his decision alienates his more traditional relatives -- Miriam even expels him from the family -- and encourages everyone to act quickly before he "taints his mother's memory." The final scene at the graveside involves four headstones on the same plot and an unveiling that rivals the showdown from "High Noon."

FAMILY PLOTZ