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Patrick (Simon Reynolds) is a teenager with the usual concerns of teens: schoolwork, his peers' opinions of him, and girls. In addition, he has to put up with his weirdo dad (R.H. Thomson), who imagines he is some kind of inventor. His dad has some other problems, too, like his habit of taking out his frustrations on Patrick's mom and sister. At school, some light dawns when a history teacher takes an interest in him. With her help, he gradually starts taking responsibility for his performance at school. That lesson prompts him to take a good hard look at what's happening at home, and before long he calls the police to cart his abusive dad away.