Young amateur filmmaker Wade Down lives with his adult brother Will after their parents died a few years earlier, taking care of their house in the suburbs. The brothers inherited their parents' liquor store, and Will is set on growing the business; his plan is for Wade to go to college as a business major and help them expand. Wade wants no part of this, but he now has one summer left before going to business school and getting locked into that future. Meanwhile, Wade's lifelong friend Johnny gets into the college of his dreams which will take him far away from their hometown. Wade decides to make one last short film to prove to Will he has what it takes to be a director, and to spend his last summer together with Johnny. We follow this journey over that summer, narrated by Wade himself.Wade convinces Johnny to act in his film, but they need another actor. He asks his brother for money to hire someone, but Will refuses to support Wade's dreams. Wade has no cash, but decides to sell his rare signed baseball for funding. He and Johnny meet up with the buyers and secure payment, but the men claim the signature is fake and try to rob Wade. Wade asserts the signature's authenticity, and Johnny saves Wade by fighting the men off. They narrowly escape with the money.Wade puts up flyers around town seeking auditions from actors. Johnny and Wade watch the three videos they receive: one from an unstable man; another from a young aspiring actor named Tommy; and yet another from the strangers who tried to rob Wade, claiming they found his flyer and will get revenge on him if they find him. Wade and Johnny laugh at the absurdity of the stranger's video, and decide to hire Tommy.Filming is off to a rocky start, with Tommy acting disrespectful toward Wade for his naivety of trying to make a film by himself. Johnny and Tommy form a budding friendship which makes Wade jealous. Wade convinces them to film a night scene at the local park, which is dangerous because the park is closed. After filming the scene, they are chased by security and make a narrow escape.Will scolds Wade for putting their future in danger for the film, since getting arrested could jeopardize his college plan. Will says the film better be perfect since Wade is risking so much for it. Wade storms off and Will steals his camera. The next day on set, Wade can't find his camera and drives to the store to confront Will. He assures his brother he is trying to be more professional now, and that he's doing his best to make a perfect film. Wade finally gets the camera back to set, but Tommy and Johnny are gone. Wade yells at Johnny over the phone, but he assures Wade they were simply busy and will get the scene done the next day.A few weeks into production, Wade and Johnny are filming another scene. Johnny keeps flubbing his lines as Wade's anger mounts. Wade explodes at Johnny but quickly apologizes, admitting he feels like he has one last chance to prove his worth as a filmmaker. Johnny reassures him but has to leave for his new job. That night, Wade researches method acting and method directing in an attempt to get the perfect performance out of Johnny. Later, Wade suffers an intense dream sequence where he sees his name listed under every job in a film's credits, drowning in a mix of applause and the sound of the car crash that killed his parents.Johnny is late to the next filming day because he can't find his bicycle. During filming, Wade asks him to draw on how it felt when he found out his bike was stolen. Johnny catches on to Wade's scheme, since he never mentioned it was stolen. Johnny gives an intense rendition of his lines before storming off. Wade tries to frame Tommy for taking the bike, so Johnny calls him and asks. Tommy denies it, then he and Johnny quit the production.Later in the summer, Tommy and Johnny bond as Wade falls deeper into madness. One day Wade sees them leaving the park and waves, but he is ignored. In the parking lot, the Strangers' car backs away and speeds off. Johnny walks home alone in the street, then the Strangers pull up behind him. They call the police to get justice for the scam he pulled with Wade. Wade stumbles upon the scene but chooses to turn and run as the police show up.Wade gets home and seeks help from Will, but Will finds a way to twist the conversation into a fight about their future. They finally find common ground and Will apologizes for his control over Wade's path. That night Johnny finds his bike on his front porch.Johnny meets up with Wade to discuss returning to the film. Johnny agrees to film one more scene out of pity, but Tommy won't join them. Wade rewrites the scene for Johnny's character.Wade and Johnny meet for the final filming day. Johnny gets a call from his college saying his admission was rescinded for criminal activity, since he was detained by the police. Johnny blames Wade and his scam for the whole ordeal and they get into a physical fight. Wade breaks his ankle and Johnny leaves him in the dirt. Johnny calls Will and tells him to contact Wade.In the end, it is revealed that Wade's narration was him talking to his parents' gravestone in the cemetery, telling them the story of his summer. He finally accepts responsibility for his actions and accepts his future won't be the one of his dreams.