Time Out - A macho rock singer kidnaps his son when he realizes he may lose him to callous grandparents, and lives in hiding, losing his career, but finding a better self.

SYNOPSIS:

Jake is a self-centered 25-year-old musician; a cad with a great deal of charm. He has a 4-year-old son, Roger, by Julie, a woman to whom he is not married.

One day Jake receives a call from his mother saying Julie, who has been living with his parents, has run away - abandoning their son, and Julie's parents have come to claim custody of Roger. At great inconvenience, Jake has to go home to deal with the situation. But he must be back in Boston in two days for a concert or lose his place in the band.

When Jake arrives in Vermont, Roger is glad to see him, but Jake is anxious to quickly turn him over to Julie's parents so he can get back for his concerts.

However, when Jake and Roger go to meet Julie's parents, Jake is so appalled by their banal lifestyle he can't bear to see Roger grow up in their care. That night, he reconsiders and decides to flee with Roger after having already signed his parental rights over to Julie’s parents.

Jake knows Julie’s parents will say he has kidnapped their grandson, and there might be police looking for them, so they take backroads, hiking and camping. Jake is not very adept at camping and Roger is beginning to suffer from a lack of nourishing food, and exhaustion from the journey.

When they finally arrive back in Boston, Jake learns that he has lost his place in the band and his apartment is under surveillance by the police. He has no choice but to seek help from his friends. He starts by crashing with an ex, Barbara, a no-nonsense black dancer. She is tough on Jake and Roger, but for some reason, Roger takes a liking to her. Barbara wants to have sex with Jake but he, surprisingly, refuses. That is not what he wants or needs from her now.

Knowing they can’t stay with Barbara much longer he goes to see Dale, another ex. She has a boyfriend now but is willing to give him up and get back together with Jake. However, Jake knows that is not right. He is only close to her now as a friend.

He goes back to Barbara’s but he cannot seem to get a grip on his situation and is paralyzed, unable to take any affirmative actions. But the police have recently questioned Barbara and Jake knows they need to get out of there. He then seeks help from his manager, Rob. He has a house on Cape Cod that needs a caretaker for the winter who can do some repairs and improvements. He offers Jake the job, and he accepts.

On the Cape, Roger and Jake lead an ideal life as they grow and change one another over the course of the winter. But as the spring comes, Roger begins to grow restless, missing his mother and other children to play with. Jake has become paranoid about protecting Roger and forbids him to play with other children because he is afraid, they will somehow be discovered by the police.

Then one weekend, Dale, Barbara, and Rob come for a visit. In their various ways, they try and persuade Jake to come back to Boston, deal openly with Roger's custody, and get his life back on track. But his life has changed so much he wants to stay. He no longer seeks to be in a band. He just wants to write music. But as the weekend comes to a close, Marshals arrive, having finally tracked Jake down, and they demand custody of Roger. Jake is not a suspect in the kidnapping, as he is the biological father, but he did sign away his parental rights and the issue must be decided in court.

Back in Boston, Jake struggles to legally retain custody. It is a daunting process. Roger’s mother, Julie, is now married, but her husband refuses to let her have Roger – only wanting their biological children. Jake thinks he might persuade Julie to let him have Roger. He goes to her and pleads his case. She is reluctant – thinking of him as an unlikely father. But she agrees that if he can prove to her he has a stable environment for Roger, she will reconsider letting him parent Roger.

Jake is unsure how to accomplish this, but he gets an idea and calls his closest friends for a surprise get-together. They arrive at Dale’s apartment, thinking it is just a party. However, Jake surprises them by explaining his request to Julie. He adds that he is not seeking a conventional marriage to raise Roger, then asks them if they will join him in being Roger's family. He is certain, all of them together can be the stable family Julie is looking for. They are stunned but joyfully agree.

Jake goes back to Julie. He brings her drawings Roger has made for her. He explains how happy Roger is living at the beach and how much he loves and enjoys the company of what Jake hopes will be his new family and his plan for raising Roger. She can’t see how that could work and says he must leave. He does. She picks up Roger’s drawings filled with sunshine, and happy people - with Roger and Jake always at the center. She goes quickly to the door and calls for Jake to come back.

The last scene is a montage at the Cape with the new "family" at a clam bake. Roger is playing with other kids and his dog. There is a lot of playful interaction with the whole “family.”