Boy dying of leukemia, plays prank with dad on neighbor

Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.

When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.

Set in present-day suburbia, a young couple returns to the husband's childhood home. Their world is upended when new neighbors move in across the street, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.

An 11-year-old boy, trying to make sense of the first death he has encountered with the passing of his neighbor, competes with the neighborhood kids to catch the attention of a girl who has come to the funeral.

This is a sad and beautiful story about a father who is a popular comedian and a son who suffered by an incurable disease.