 The film starts in Venice, Italy, where Dean, a character much like the writer/director, is promoting his latest movie, which has been chosen as the American entry in a film festival. As he negotiates the media circus, he meets Jeanne, a woman from France who has sought him out because she s in love with the man she perceives behind his movies. She warns her that he s not really the man in his movies, at the same time avoiding the claim that movies are any less real than "reality." She becomes disenchanted, however, watching him play the publicity game, and eventually leaves. When the film moves to Venice Beach, CA, she reappears, and Dean s life gets rearranged as a result. The whole drama is intercut with sound-bites from a host of women talking about the differences between "real life" and the movies.