History professor and aspiring author Lewis Birch (Griffin Dunne) heads on a road trip with his children Zoe (Martin) and Jack (Graye) to attend a conference. However, he learns early into the trip that his mother is ill, and heads to visit her, where he finds she has died. His father, Stanley (Stuart Margolin) decides to follow a Lewis and Clark reenactment trip, the family ends up traveling together.
I watched this to give some appreciation to actor Stuart Margolin, but really this is Dunne's show. I know him pretty much only from "American Werewolf", but I think I need to fix that because he is great here. I love that the father is obsessed with Lewis and Clark, and named his son Lewis. The son, who thinks his dad is a nut, writes a 6,000-page history on Lewis and Clark anyway.
We then have a quirky supporting cast, which never hurts, including the kids (or grandkids), who seem horrified by their adventure. The daughter, in particular, has an awful time and becomes someone worth rallying around if you are to root for any of these nuts.