Veteran Washington, D.C. cop Mac Stern (Gene Hackman) has just moved out of his apartment and into his "woody" station wagon, and been assigned a new partner-forensics expert Ellis Fielding (Dan Aykroyd). Despite his estimable powers of deduction, Ellis has a peculiar disorder-when faced with danger he assumes the personality of the Wicked Witch of the West, Ricky Ricardo, the Roadrunner, Popeye, Pee-wee Herman or any one of a slew of characters. Chasing down criminals in Mac's home-on-wheels while conversing as if in a Saturday morning cartoon is not easy on either partner. But when confronted with a bizarre murder case and a conspiracy involving a European leader, the disparate duo manage to overcome their differences and help expose a decades-old secret with international ramifications.