Melvin and Howard

Howard Hughes crashes his motorcycle in the Nevada desert. Melvin Dummar stops and offers to drive him to Las Vegas rather than to a hospital. They chat and sing together, with Hughes coaxing Melvin to join in a Christmas song he wrote, before Hughes is dropped off at the Desert Inn.

Most of the film centers on Melvin's scattered, up-and-down life and his spendthrift, luck-driven approach to money. His rocky marriage to his first wife Lynda drives much of the early turmoil, while a later bond with Bonnie offers a semblance of stability.

Lynda leaves Melvin and their daughter to dance in a sleazy strip club. The move deepens Melvin's financial and emotional strain and foreshadows the couple's rough road ahead.

Lynda eventually returns to Melvin, but she remains frustrated by his futile efforts to achieve the American dream. Her impatience highlights the ongoing strain in their relationship and finances.

Lynda appears on Easy Street, a game-show hybrid. Her tap-dancing number is booed at first, but she wins the audience over and takes the top prize: living room furniture, a piano, and $10,000 cash.

Melvin agrees to invest in an affordable house but rashly buys a Cadillac Eldorado and a boat. His wife Lynda takes their children and sues for divorce, escalating the couple's collapse.

Bonnie, the payroll clerk at the dairy, becomes Melvin's confidante and later his wife. The couple moves to Utah, where they take over the operation of a service station her relatives had owned.

A mysterious limousine passenger stops at the service station to buy cigarettes, then drives off leaving an envelope marked 'Last Will and Testament of Howard Hughes' on Melvin's desk. Afraid to open it, Melvin takes the envelope to Mormon headquarters and hides it in a pile of incoming mail.

News crews descend on Melvin and his family amid the Will envelope mystery. The sudden media spotlight complicates their everyday life and makes the family anxious.

Melvin is drawn into a courtroom confrontation surrounding the will. He admits he once met Hughes but vigorously denies forging the will.

The last will and testament becomes the central concern of legal and media attention, highlighting the tension between truth, fame, and money. The proceedings emphasize how a single document can reshape a life in the public eye.

The case closes with the will as a symbol of Melvin's long-sought dreams, even as the outcome remains entangled with legal and media scrutiny. The film suggests the will could finally fulfill his aspirations, underscoring the enduring allure of wealth and fame.