Shirlee Kenyon, Dolly Parton, a dance instructor in the small town of Flat River, Arkansas, is fired for giving advice to her clients rather than teaching them dance. She tries to convince her unemployed boyfriend to move to Chicago, but after he belittles her, she leaves him behind and moves to the city on her own.
On the Wabash Avenue Bridge, Shirlee makes a wish and accidentally drops a $20 bill. As she leans over the railing to retrieve it, Jack Russell, James Woods, an investigative journalist, watches from his office and misreads the scene as a suicide attempt. He rushes out to pull her to safety, but in the tense moment she nearly slips into the water and the money disappears. When he learns her goal was simply to recover the bill, Jack offers her money, yet Shirlee declines and continues on her way.
She stops at a diner for breakfast and chats with Janice, Teri Hatcher, a woman smarting from a broken, overworked relationship. Shirlee urges her to end a relationship that’s draining her, and Janice, in turn, ends up breaking up with her own indifferent boyfriend—who, it turns out, is Jack. The encounter leaves Jack briefly shaken, and he quietly thanks Shirlee for the unintended disruption before heading off.
After several job interviews, Shirlee lands a receptionist position at a local radio station, despite having no formal experience. On her first day, she accidentally wanders into a recording studio and is mistaken for the station’s new call-in therapist, Dr. Kendall. Although she insists that her last name is Kenyon, Shirlee is put on the air and begins giving direct, practical advice to callers, often telling them to “honk their own horn.” The program director, Alan Riegert, Griffin Dunne, is appalled by her presence and quickly fires her, yet the feedback from listeners is overwhelming.
Shirlee’s segment catches fire with the audience, and Alan offers her an impressive contract—$800 per week—to host her own show. She signs, but she must play the part of a real clinical doctor. Reluctantly, she becomes a sensation as “Dr. Shirlee,” adored by fans who tune in for her blunt, no-nonsense style. As the myth grows, Jack becomes suspicious; the woman who risked her life for $20 now wields real influence and seems almost too competent to be a mere lay adviser. He begins to plan a story to expose Shirlee, despite pressure from his editor not to.
During his investigation, Jack starts dating Shirlee and even travels to Flat River to question Steve about her. He finds himself drawn to her, and their relationship deepens. When Shirlee brings Jack back to her new apartment, Steve arrives unexpectedly, not recognizing Jack at first, and throws a punch before Shirlee orders him out. The two share a charged moment and have sex, complicating Jack’s resolve.
The next morning, Jack chooses not to publish his exposé and quits his job, torn between duty and genuine feeling. Meanwhile, Shirlee learns from Steve—who recalls meeting Jack in Flat River—that Jack is actually a reporter. Confronted, Jack admits his initial story angel was a setup, but the connection blossomed into something real. Shirlee, hurt by the deception, storms off and stops taking his calls.
As Shirlee’s fame grows, a misstep in her advice to a prior caller leads to a televised confession that she is not a real doctor. Still, her listeners rally behind her, calling in to support her at midnight with a symbolic chorus of honks. Jack tracks Shirlee down to the Wabash Avenue Bridge and convinces her that her advice did help people, even if she isn’t a licensed physician. As they listen to the horns together, Jack assures Shirlee that their gestures are for her, and they share a kiss. When local police nearby recognize the persona of “Dr. Shirlee,” she declares that her true self is simply Shirlee, bringing the story back to a quieter, more human ending.
> "honk their own horn"
