gus kubicek (played by guttenberg) is a depressed and overweight cartoonist who recently won a battle against hodgkin’s disease. his caring sister lizzie potts (long), a nosy romance novelist, responds to his sadness by trying to set him up with a suitable woman. yet to do so she must make him seem more dynamic and attractive. when gus falls in love with emily (gertz), he adopts the persona of lobo marunga, a leather-clad biker from new zealand.