In 1967, Eddie Birdlace returned from the Vietnam War.
On November 21, 1963, Eddie and his best friends Boland and Bernstein (The Three Bees) decide to spend their last night before a deployment playing a game: who can find the ugliest girl in town and bring her to a party. where will she be judged?
The marines rejoice in this cruel competition. But when Eddie finds Rose Fenny, a clumsy waitress who has never had a date, he changes his mind. She learns about her deployment, but is determined not to let him define her as an ugly and pathetic girl, and her optimism has a profound effect on Eddie's worldview.
Derek Klena and Linsday Mendez perform one of the cult songs of the show: