Adopted as a kid, new dad Mel Colpin (Ben Stiller) decides he cannot name his son until he knows his birth parents, also determines to earn a cross country quest to find them. Accompanied by his wife, Nancy (Patricia Arquette), along with also an awkward yet magnificent adoption representative, Tina (Tea Leoni), he departs on an epic road trip that quickly devolves to a farce of mistaken identities, wrong turns, and overzealous and love-struck ATF agents (Josh Brolin, Richard Jenkins).