Can a comedian evolve into a challenging artist? Not in the public's view, as Sandy Bates (Woody Allen) learns the hard way. The hostile comments persistently hurled at him indicate that audiences prefer his earlier slapstick comedies over his recent work: allegorical black-and-white head-scratchers in the vein of European art films. Invited to attend a retrospective of his work, the former funny man must come to terms with critics, audiences, lovers and, ultimately, himself.