Set at the fictional Camden College in New Hampshire, the film opens at the "End of the World" party, where students Lauren Hynde, Paul Denton, and Sean Bateman give apathetic interior monologues on their lives and briefly exchange glances with one another. Lauren, previously a virgin, takes a film student upstairs to have sex, only to wake up being raped by a townie while the film student records it; upon waking, she reflects on how she had planned to lose her virginity to Victor, her now ex-boyfriend. Meanwhile, Paul tries to have sex with a jock, only to be bashed when it turns out he is deeply closeted; additionally, a bruised Sean tears up a purple letter, before approaching and having sex with a blonde girl at the party.
The story takes place in and around Paris, France in 1931. The story told is one of a love triangle between the Millers and Anaïs Nin. She is in a stable relationship with her husband Hugo, but longs for more out of life. When Nin first meets Henry Miller, he is working on his first novel. Nin is drawn to Miller and his wife June, as well as their bohemian lifestyle. Nin becomes involved in the couple's tormented relationship, having an affair with Miller and also pursuing June. Ultimately, Nin helps Miller to publish his novel, Tropic of Cancer, but catalyzes the Millers' separation, while she returns to Hugo.
Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) is a beautiful and dangerous immortal vampire, promising specially chosen humans eternal life as her vampire lovers. As the film begins, her vampire companion is John (David Bowie), a talented cellist whom she married in 18th century France. The film opens in a night club in New York, to a live performance from Bauhaus. There they connect with another young couple who are brought home and fed upon by slashing their throats with a bladed Ankh pendant. The bodies are disposed of by an incinerator in the basement of John and Miriam's elegant New York townhouse, where they pose as a wealthy couple who teach classical music. The only student shown is a young tomboy violinist named Alice Cavender (Beth Ehlers).
A fictional story of literary scholars American Roland Mitchell (Aaron Eckhart) and British Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), who independently find that the socially antagonistic relationship between the Victorian era poets Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam) and Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle) may have concealed a secret connection as lovers. Ash is traditional and conservative and LaMotte is a freethinking bisexual. Rival scholars become aware of their efforts and each seeks to be the first at the public disclosure of this major finding about the poets. In a parallel relationship, Mitchell and Bailey have their own deepening connection.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jessica Stein, a copyeditor living and working in New York City, is plagued by failed blind dates with men, and decides to answer a newspaper's personal advertisement containing a quote from Rilke that she had read and admired earlier. The advertisement has been placed by Helen Cooper, a thirtysomething bisexual art gallerist who is seeking a lesbian relationship to replace her unsatisfying and meaningless sex with men.
A young girl, Mélanie Prouvost, aspires to be a pianist and auditions in front of famous pianist Ariane Fouchécourt for a place at a conservatoire. Ariane signs an autograph for an admirer during the recital, distracting Mélanie and affecting her performance. She leaves the audition with her mother, heart broken.
Elizabeth and Bertrand are typical representatives of Parisian society. Behind the facade of a perfect marriage is dissatisfaction and boredom. He is a successful real estate agent having fun with much younger women or men behind the back of his wife. She suffers under the crushing uneventful life of a housewife and looks forward to a family holiday with daughter Emily. Bertrand backs out at the last minute and sends in his place Julie, Elizabeth's best friend and his former lover. He is free for a new love affair in Paris. The neighbors, Véro and Jérôme have very different problems. Jérôme is unemployed and collects gas meters. He hides his feelings of failure from Véro and son Loic. Since Véro wants to keep up with the neighbors, both families end up in the same resort. Numerous mistakes, misunderstandings and surprises are inevitable.
In the heart of the Canadian wilderness, sultry and sexually assertive Vixen quickly becomes bored when her husband Tom, wilderness guide/pilot (Garth Pillsbury) leaves for the mountains. The hyper sexual Vixen vents her frustration by attempting to seduce anyone within reach including a couple her husband bring home as clients (separately), a Mountie, and eventually her own brother (Jon Evans).
The film opens on a graffiti-covered wall with Encolpius lamenting the loss of his lover Gitón to Ascyltus. Vowing to win him back, he learns at the Thermae that Ascyltus sold Gitón to the actor Vernacchio. At the theatre, he discovers Vernacchio and Gitón performing in a lewd play based on the "emperor's miracle": a slave's hand is axed off and replaced with a gold one. Encolpius storms the stage and reclaims Gitón. On their return to Encolpius's home in the Insula Felicles, a Roman tenement building, they walk through the vast Roman brothel known as the Lupanare, observing numerous sensual scenes. They fall asleep after making love at Encolpius's place. Ascyltus sneaks into the room, waking Encolpius with a whiplash. Since both share the tenement room, Encolpius proposes they divide up their property and separate. Ascyltus mockingly suggests they split Gitón in half. Encolpius is driven to suicidal despair, however, when Gitón decides to leave with Ascyltus. At that moment, an earthquake destroys the tenement.
Ronit est une jeune femme indépendante qui travaille comme photographe aux États-Unis. Elle a grandi à Londres dans un milieu juif orthodoxe qu'elle a fui il y a plusieurs années. À la mort de son père rabbin, Ronit retourne à Londres pour assister à ses funérailles. La sévère communauté juive est troublée par sa réapparition, mais aussi par les sentiments qu'elle éprouve toujours pour sa meilleure amie Esti. Cette dernière répond à ses sentiments, bien qu'elle soit mariée à un futur rabbin.
Larry Gigli (Ben Affleck) is a low-ranking Los Angeles mobster who isn't nearly as tough as he likes to act. He is commanded to kidnap the mentally challenged younger brother of a powerful federal prosecutor to save New York-based mob boss Starkman (Al Pacino) from prison. Gigli successfully convinces the young man, Brian (Justin Bartha), to go off with him by promising to take him "to the Baywatch", which seems to be Brian's singular obsession, and turns out to just be the beach. The man who ordered the kidnapping, Louis (Lenny Venito), does not trust Gigli to get the job done right, so he hires a woman calling herself Ricki (Jennifer Lopez) to take charge.
Mike (River Phoenix), a gay street hustler, is standing alone on a deserted stretch of highway. He starts talking to himself and notices that the road looks “like someone’s face, like a fucked-up face.” He experiences a narcoleptic episode and dreams of his mother comforting him as he replays home movies of his childhood in his mind.
Underground criminal Divine lives under the pseudonym "Babs Johnson" with her mentally ill, egg-loving mother Edie, delinquent son Crackers, and traveling companion Cotton. They all live together in a pink trailer on the outskirts of Phoenix, Maryland, in front of which can be found a pair of eponymous plastic pink flamingos. After learning that Divine has been named "the filthiest person alive" by a tabloid paper, jealous rivals Connie and Raymond Marble set out to destroy her career but come undone in the process.
Set in contemporary New York City, Shortbus revolves around Sofia Lin (Sook-Yin Lee), who is married to the handsome but unambitious and slightly dim-witted Rob (Raphael Barker). She works as a couples counselor/sex therapist. She comes into contact with a couple: A slightly egotistical former child star Jamie (PJ DeBoy) and former prostitute James (Paul Dawson), the film's other lead character. At the outset, James suggests to his boyfriend that they open up their relationship to sex with others. During their first consultation, Sofia snaps, slaps Jamie, and then apologetically reveals her "pre-orgasmic" status. The couple suggests she attend a weekly social/artistic/sexual salon in Brooklyn called "Shortbus," which is hosted by drag performance artist Justin Bond (playing himself). Sofia slowly opens up to new experiences; this includes a friendship with a dominatrix who goes by the name Severin (Lindsay Beamish). Sofia's inability to achieve orgasm begins to cause conflict with Rob, who in turn begins attending Shortbus with Sofia.
The story involves an unusual love triangle: a straight gigolo Joe (Baldwin), his lesbian best friend Connie (Lynch), and her former lover, an attractive bisexual woman Ellen (Fenn).