Plot

A man learns he has a thirteen-year-old son who was raised in the jungle and brings the boy to New York City, turning his life upside down in the process.

Michael Cromwell is a successful albeit self-absorbed commodities broker who wants to marry his new girlfriend, Charlotte, but to do so he has to divorce his wife, Patricia, who has spent several years living among South American Indians. When he travels there to obtain the divorce papers, he discovers that he has a teenage son named Mimi-Siku who accompanies him back to America to learn the ways of the urban jungle.—Tom Daly

Michael Cromwell is a New York commodities broker who has been separated from his wife, Patricia. Now he wants to marry his new girlfriend, Charlotte, so he has to divorce Patricia first. So he goes to Venezuela, is brought deep into the jungle, and told that when they separated, she was pregnant and chose not to tell him since he stated he was not really interested in becoming a father. Today, the boy, Mimi-Siku, has reached the age where he has to go on a quest in New York, so Michael reluctantly brings him along, and a culture clash follows. Mimi-Siku has spent all of his life with the tribe he grew up with, and Michael has a bit of problem so he can't spend as much as time with him as he likes.—[email protected]

Michael Cromwell (Tim Allen) is a self-absorbed, successful commodities broker living in New York City. Michael lives in the corporate jungle of New York. Michael is partners with Richard and has just purchased 300 lots of coffee futures, which is 5100 tons of coffee, which Richard considers a huge mistake in the current market. Wanting to marry his new fiance Charlotte (Lolita Davidovich), he needs to obtain a final divorce from his first wife, Patricia (JoBeth Williams), who left him some years earlier. Abe (Luis Avalos) is Michael attorney and driver in Venezuela. Patricia now lives with a semi-Westernized tribe in Canaima National Park, Venezuela. Michael travels there to get her signature on divorce papers, but upon arriving Abe tells him that Patricia could not come to Canaima city and instead wants Michael to come to the island of Lipo-Lipo.

George Langston (Bob Dishy) is Michael and Richard's boss and is livid at seeing the futures contract for coffee, but Michael (before leaving Canaima) tells Richard not to sell the coffee till he tells him to. Richard ends up hiding under his desk to avoid George.

Upon reaching there (by travelling through piranha infested waters) Michael discovers he has a 13-year-old son, Mimi-Siku (Sam Huntington). Mimi-Siku has been born and raised in the jungle and is fully trained to live off the land. Patricia is called Paliku. Patricia says that she left Michael as he was too absorbed in his work and had just installed a 5th phone line in their apartment. The boatman leaves Michael on the island as he had another appointment. Patricia says that the boatman will be back in a couple of days. Michael uses a satellite connection to confirm the trade to sell his coffee futures (for 97.25 cents per pound) for a profit of $300,000. Then the laptop runs out of battery power.

Michael attempts to bond with Mimi-Siku in his brief stay with the tribe and promises to take him to New York 'when he is a man'. Mimi-Siku is popular with the girls and has friends such as a tarantula and an alligator. Michael is also given a new name, Baboon, as a custom in the tribe. That night, Mimi-Siku undergoes the tradition rite of passage of his tribe, who then consider him to be a man. The tribal elder gives Mimi a special task, to allow him to become a tribal leader one day. Mimi must bring fire from the Statue of Liberty and looks forward to traveling with his father. Against his protests, Michael brings Mimi-Siku to New York with him. Patricia tells Michael that he cannot break the first promise he makes to his son.

Michael learns that Richard never sold the coffee as the confirm order did not reach him. Now the price is down 7 cents. Michael tells George to hold on to coffee and is confident that the market will turn around. The losses on the current trade are already over $1 million. Michael's fiance, Charlotte (Lolita Davidovich), is less than pleased about the unexpected visitor, particularly at his loin cloth outfit, and trying to urinate in front of her at the fake tree (as is usual in his tribe), suggests eating her cat and releases his enormous pet tarantula in her apartment. Charlotte is having Ian (Dominic Keating) do a profile on her for the fashion channel. Ian will be following her everywhere and will be covering the wedding as well. Mimi-Siku can hit a fly with a blow dart gun. When Michael tries the same thing, he hits his own leg.

Mimi-Siku wears traditional dress during much of his stay in New York. As Michael attempts to adapt Mimi-Siku to city life, cross-cultural misunderstandings occur when Mimi-Siku reverts to customs considered acceptable by his tribe. He kills a pigeon that lands on Chalotte's balcony for breakfast. On climbing the Statue of Liberty to reach the flame, Mimi-Siku is disappointed when he sees that the fire is not real.

Richard tries desperately to find a buyer for his coffee contract and unearths Alexei Jovanovic, a Russian dealer. Jovanovic offers to pay 85 cents per pound but wants a guarantee that the price will not drop below 75 cents per pound. Jovanovic pays in cash, which means now they are laundering money for the Russian mafia. Michael walks away, but Jovanovic corners Richard, who agrees to the deal.

While staying at the home of Michael's partner, Richard Kempster (Martin Short) Mimi-Siku falls in love with Richard's daughter, Karen (Leelee Sobieski). He paints her face, and gives her a new name, Oo-Ku-Mai, as is the custom in his tribe. Richard is unhappy about Mimi's presence in his home because of his influence over Karen and cooking and eating his prize-winning fish. He freaks out when he sees Mimi and Karen together in a hammock and threatens to send her to an all-girls summer camp.

The Kempsters and Michael Cromwell are being targeted by Jovanovic (David Ogden Stiers), a Russian mobster and caviar dealer, who believes that they have cheated him in a business deal. Jovanovic arrives at the Kempsters', intent on removing Richard's fingers in revenge. By fighting together and utilizing Mimi-Siku's hunting skills (and spider) the two families defeat the mobsters.

Mimi-Siku returns to the Amazon jungle, but before he leaves, his father gives him a satellite phone, so they can stay in touch. Michael also presents Mimi with a Statue of Liberty cigarette lighter, which produces fire from the torch and will fulfill Mimi's quest. In return, Mimi gives his father a blowpipe and poisoned darts, telling Michael to practice and come to see him when he can hit flies.

Shortly afterwards, Michael finds himself disheartened by the rat-race and realizes that his relationship with Charlotte is not working for him anymore. He attempts to kill a fly with his blowpipe, on the trading floor of the New York Board of Trade. He hits the fly, but also his boss, who collapses asleep on the trading floor.

Michael returns to Lipo-Lipo to see his son and ex-wife, bringing the Kempster family with him for a vacation. Karen and Mimi are reunited, and it is implied that Michael and Patricia also resume their relationship.

As the closing credits start rolling, Michael undergoes the rite of passage as Mimi did earlier.