Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise)’s Timeline and Summary
- Charlie is selling used Lamborghinis in L.A., but his business is kind of on ice until he clears up some problems the EPA has with his product's emissions. Things are pretty stressful for him.
- In the middle of his business crisis, Charlie finds out that his father has died, so he hits the road to Cincinnati to attend the funeral and tie up his dad's affairs.
- When he gets there, he discovers that his father has left him a car and some rose bushes, but basically cut him out of the rest of the inheritance.
- Charlie goes on the hunt for the unnamed trustee who got the lion's share of his dad's fortune. That search leads him to a brother he never knew he had, who had been entrusted to the care of a long-term care facility called Wallbrook. The brother, Raymond, has autism.
- Charlie kidnaps Raymond in an attempt to convince Raymond's custodian/the trustee of Raymond's money to release "Charlie's" half of their father's fortune to Charlie.
- He claims he's going to apply for custody back in L.A. and hits the road with Raymond to get back there. His girlfriend is so disgusted with his actions that she peaces out early in the trip.
- Charlie doesn't find travel with Raymond super easy. Raymond has a lot of needs and wants, and Charlie (being pretty selfish) doesn't seem used to spending a lot of time thinking about others.
- However, eventually Charlie and Raymond bond, and Charlie realizes that his brother's special challenges also come with some majorly awesome and useful skills—skills like the ability to count cards. So, off to Vegas they go.
- After winning big in Vegas (and catching some negative attention from the hotel security folks) and having a few key bonding moments, Raymond and Charlie head back to L.A., where Charlie now plans to pursue custody because he likes him—instead of just as a money grab.
- However, after talking to Raymond's doctor and the judge (and a scary incident in Charlie's house involving an unattended Raymond and the toaster oven), Charlie comes to realize that Raymond would be better off in a facility, and so he agrees to stop fighting Raymond's return to Wallbrook.