The Old Settler is the story of two middle-aged sisters, Elizabeth and Quilly, who share an apartment in Harlem in 1943. The sisters quarrel amiably, but they share a wounded history that becomes revealed as the tale unfolds. An earnest but unworldly young man named Husband travels up from the South to board with the sisters while he searches for his beloved Lou Bessie, who left their small town a few years back to find a new life. Husband would like to bring Lou Bessie back home, but she's enamored with the excitement of the city, and her plans are more complicated. In time, Elizabeth and Husband begin a courtship that may or may not overcome their considerable age difference, while Quilly reacts disapprovingly.

当Butch、Postmaster P和Stray Bullet为筹钱制作试听专辑，洗劫当地嘻哈大亨的录音棚时，三人组意外夺得了Mack Daddy成功的秘密——一支魔法长笛。他们的演出顿时风生水起，然而嗜血鬼精灵与暴怒的Mack Daddy正循迹追杀而来，所经之处不仅遍地狼藉，更留下了冒犯性打油诗的血腥注脚。

在这部与理查德·普赖尔自身生活经历紧密相似的电影中，他饰演了乔·乔·丹瑟，一位因毒品事件而严重烧伤的受欢迎的单口喜剧演员。当他在医院里昏迷不醒时，他的精神替身起身开始了一段自我探索的旅程。他回顾自己的人生，从在妓院长大、努力克服种种困难成为顶级喜剧演员。然而，成功也带来了新的问题，他逐渐陷入了物质滥用的悲剧模式，开始破坏自己的生活。与此同时，乔·乔的精神在旁观这些事件，试图说服过去的自己走出自我毁灭的道路。