The whole plot of this film is based on a simple premise that works better than it has a right to. Three young New Yorkers time-share an apartment – each taking 2 days a week – in order to pursue interests or gain privacy they aren't allowed in their real lives. It's fairly formulaic, one guy's a pig, the other is a gourmet chef and the woman is stuck in between. All are looking for the perfect relationship. Luckily for the audience, the good guy is played by Matthew Broderick. Nobody does lovelorn New Yorkers better. He's a little meaner and more frustrated in this film than we normally get to see him and he pulls it off with flying colors.

The film begins with Brian (Anderson) having to give up the "Lion's Den" – the ultimate bachelor pad – because he's getting married. Of course, he's not quite ready to settle down, so he sublets the apartment 4 days a week to two other people who are looking for a little privacy. Ellen (Sciorra), a dental hygenist wants a place where she can paint and get away from her husband, a nice, but boring dry cleaner. Sam (Broderick) works the deli counter of an upscale market and is a gourmet cook. He has so many roommates in his apartment he doesn't even know them all. Plus he's trying to get over his French performance artist girlfriend, Pastel (Tripplehorn), who he keeps bumping into and can't let go of. And we can't forget Brian, a stockbrocker who continues to party like a frat boy while telling his fiancee (played by Bateman) that he's changed.