Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) has just discovered he has an autistic brother named Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) and is now taking him on the ride of his life. Or is it the other way around? From his refusal to drive on major highways to a "four minutes to Wapner" meltdown at an Oklahoma farmhouse, Raymond first pushes hot-headed Charlie to the limits of his patience...and then pulls him completely out of his self-centered world!