Satirist Albert Brooks makes his directorial debut in this hilarious mockumentary that focuses on the day-to-day life of a "typical" American family. Brooks plays himself, a producer who pitches a movie concept about filming a real American family for one year and editing it into a movie. Backed up by a team of psychologists and a respected institute dealing with human behavior, he promises not to let the cameras interfere in any way in their lives. But the problems begin on day one, and Brooks desperately tries to hold his project together. Obsessed with presenting what's "real," he is soon convinced that real life isn't exciting enough for film. Brooks mercilessly parodies the Hollywood persona in this sharp satire of the entertainment industry that presages such later films as EDTV and THE TRUMAN SHOW as well as the television shows THE REAL WORLD, BIG BROTHER, and SURVIVOR.