The film consists of two stories that are unrelated and have different actors, titled "Fiction" and "Non-Fiction". College and high school serve as the backdrop for these two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.

Fiction
"Fiction", starring Selma Blair, is about a group of college students in a creative writing class taught by a professor (Robert Wisdom), who has affairs with his students.

Non-Fiction
"Non-Fiction", starring Paul Giamatti and John Goodman, is about the filming of a dysfunctional suburban New Jersey family as their teenage son (Mark Webber) goes through the college application process.

Autobiography
The original version of the film featured a third story entitled "Autobiography", concerning, among other things, a closeted football player (James van der Beek). The main character has an explicit sex scene with a male partner (Steven Rosen); the entire story was cut from the final version.[4]
What kind of football player is main character?
Closeted