From his first gig as a nervous Catskills comedian, it's obvious that Lenny Bruce is a force to be reckoned with. Armed with a shocking routine and a stripper as his muse (Valerie Perrine), Lenny turns comedy - and America - on its ear with his abrasive and often offensive humor. But life in the smoke- filled bars of the comedy circuit begins to take its toll. The drugs and arrests for his subject matter wear heavily on this maverick crusader%u2026 but don't stop him from pushing the envelope right to his tragic and myth-making end.