 Lester <unk> is a middle @-@ aged advertising executive and magazine writer who <unk> his job . He is <unk> married to Carolyn , a neurotic yet fiercely ambitious real estate <unk> ; their <unk> daughter , Jane , <unk> her parents and has low self @-@ esteem . The <unk> ' new neighbors are retired United States Marine Corps Colonel Frank <unk> and his near @-@ <unk> wife , Barbara . Their <unk> son , Ricky , constantly films his surroundings with a <unk> , collecting hundreds of recordings on <unk> in his bedroom . His job as a part @-@ time bar <unk> serves as a front for his secret marijuana dealing . Col. <unk> is a strict disciplinarian who previously sent Ricky to a military school and briefly committed him to a psychiatric hospital . Jim <unk> and Jim Berkley , a gay couple who live nearby , welcome the family to the neighborhood ; the <unk> Col. <unk> angrily asks Ricky " why these faggots have to rub it in your face . " 
