gene wilder ( rudy hickman ) keep have trouble with the job he have due to his constant daydreaming or his so call nervous behavior deal with stick his tongue out at people and temporary voice loss . he decide to go to la with his wife carol kane ( annie hickman ) and change his name to rudy valentine to try out to become the world great lover . he soon question if it really worth end his marriage to become something he really isn not . dom deluise also star a the head of rainbow studio who come up with the idea of search for the world great lover . after see rudy screen test ( dom ) pick him to be one of the top 3 finalist to win a movie contract with rainbow .