Howie Blitzer is deeply affected by the death of his mother in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway. His situation is exacerbated by his acrimonious relationship with his distant father Marty, who brought a trophy girlfriend into the house less than a month after his wife's death. Howie's only solace is the company of his best friend Gary, a juvenile delinquent and hustler. Although Gary is attracted to Howie, Howie is unsure of his own sexuality. They have two other friends their age, one of whom has an incestuous relationship with his sister. The four boys routinely break into neighborhood houses.
The film centers on Etienne (Jimmy Tavares), who lives in Rouen with his mother and grandmother and intends to take part in the national figure skating championship. For his 16th birthday, his grandmother gives him a digital camcorder as a present, which he starts to use immediately (supplying the introductory scenes of the movie).
Shy, isolated, sexually confused farm boy Duncan Mudge's mother has recently died, leaving him under the supervision of his stern, depressed father Edgar. Duncan seems somehow to have transferred his love for the deceased mother to his favorite chicken, which he takes everywhere, even to bed. He has developed the odd habit of putting the chicken's head in his mouth—to calm the animal, he says. Duncan also likes to dress in his late mother's clothing, much to the distress of his bewildered father. The small, insular band of conformist teens that comprise adolescent social life in Duncan's world initially ostracize him, then allow him in to their circle only reluctantly, and largely for their own amusement. Duncan is beset with a profound sense of grief while trying to reconcile himself to a world in which he is a sexual alien. His crush on a local boy, Perry Foley, leads to a violent resolution where Duncan relinquishes that which he loves.
When shy and introspective Mary arrives as a new freshman student at an all-girls boarding school, she shares a dorm room with two seniors, Paulie and Victoria (nicknamed Tori). In contrast to the timid Mary, Paulie is full of life. For example, at Mary's very first day at the school during a quiet afternoon party on the campus thrown by the staff as a welcome back gathering, Paulie turns the events into a loud music-blasting dance party and spikes the punch with hard liquor. In an effort to break Mary out of her shell, Paulie and Tori involve her in their activities, such as running in the morning. When Mary's roommates learn that her mother recently died, Paulie nicknames her "Mary Brave".
Upper-middle class Mathieu, is spending his summer vacation on the French coast before beginning studies in the autumn to become an architect. His mother is deeply depressed because of the death of his baby brother from cancer, and is cared for by her sister, while Mathieu and his moody younger sister cannot get along.
Seventeen-year-old Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is a sunny high school senior who loves cheerleading and is dating football player Jared (Brandt Wille). She does not enjoy kissing Jared, however, and prefers looking at her fellow cheerleaders. Combined with Megan's interest in vegetarianism and Melissa Etheridge, her family and friends suspect that Megan is in fact a lesbian. With the help of ex-gay Mike (RuPaul), they surprise her with an intervention. Following this confrontation, Megan is sent to True Directions, a reparative therapy camp which uses a five-step program (similar to Alcoholics Anonymous' twelve-step program) to convert its campers to heterosexuality.
Nico and Dani are two 17-year-old friends spending the summer together at Dani's parent's beach house, while his parents are away traveling. They aim to meet girls and lose their virginity, and in the meantime they practice mutual masturbation and other sexual practices. They meet a pair of cousins, Berta and Elena. Nico is much more interested in Elena than Dani is in Berta. Nico has sex with Elena, making Dani jealous of her.
Un ex-professeur de football de 29 ans, Eban (Brent Fellows), retourne dans sa ville natale pour vivre chez ses parents. Il se lie d'amitié avec Charley (Giovanni Andrade), un garçon de 15 ans. Ils entreprennent peu à peu une relation amoureuse, malgré la menace du père du jeune Charley (Ron Upton) qui prend conscience de la situation.
In an upscale New York City mansion, wealthy and popular Kathryn Merteuil (Gellar) is discussing her prep school with Mrs. Caldwell (Christine Baranski) and Caldwell's daughter Cecile (Selma Blair). Kathryn promises Mrs. Caldwell that she will look out for the sheltered and naive Cecile. Sebastian (Phillippe) enters and Mrs. Caldwell reacts to him coldly and leaves with Cecile. Kathryn reveals that her real intention is to use Cecile to take revenge on Court, her ex-lover, who had dumped her for Cecile. Kathryn asks her step-brother Sebastian to seduce Cecile; he refuses as he is planning to seduce virgin Annette Hargrove (Witherspoon), the daughter of their school's headmaster. Annette is a 'paradigm of chastity and virtue' who recently wrote a published essay about saving herself for marriage and has been temporarily staying with Sebastian's aunt. The two make a wager: If Kathryn wins, she gets Sebastian's vintage Jaguar XK140; if Sebastian wins, Kathryn will have sex with him. It is mentioned that Sebastian keeps a journal detailing his conquests.
When homosexuality was still an absolute taboo in England, sensitive rural town model student Steven Carter hides his gay feelings, except with his neighbour, a girl named Linda. Suddenly his desperate search for partners in male public lavatories leads to a blind date with golden boy John Dixon, bound for an Oxbridge career. Steven finds the courage to approach John by volunteering for the school paper as sports photographer. A wonderful affair follows, but John is terrified of losing his social status. As the boys' love blossoms, so grows despair about secrecy or outing consequences.
Seventeen-year-old Murat, from Turkey but living in Berlin, Germany with his mother and older brother Osman, seems to be struggling with his sexuality while Osman, head of the household since the father’s death and a taxi driver, strongly urges Murat to lose his virginity to a woman. However, suspecting that Murat is gay and believing that his Turkish background makes him lesser of a person, some boys from Murat’s school harass and beat him.
Sandusky, Ohio, 1984: Eric Hunter is a Eurythmics-obsessed, musically driven teenager coming to terms with his sexual identity. When Eric and his best friend, Maggie, accept summer jobs in food service at the local amusement park, they befriend their lesbian manager, Angie, and a gay college student named Rod. Sparks fly between the two boys, even as Maggie waits patiently in the wings for Eric's affections. Eric and Rod eventually go on a date, but then Rod promptly heads back to Ohio State. The encounter leaves Eric to have mixed feelings, but he is now more sure of his sexuality. After beginning his senior year of high school, Eric starts to change up his appearance by letting Maggie dye the top half of his hair blonde, and wearing more effeminate clothes. This raises eyebrows with his loving parents, but Eric learns that his mom is going to get a part time job at a local movie multiplex to help send him to study music in New York. While at a party with Maggie, several guys from their school call Eric gay slurs that cause him to leave.
Two girls, Agnes and Elin, attend school in the small town of Åmål in Sweden. Elin is outgoing and popular, but finds her life unsatisfying and dull. Agnes, by contrast, has no real friends and is constantly depressed. Agnes is in love with Elin, but cannot find any way to express it.
The patriarch of a seemingly normal nuclear family returns home one day with a small white rat. The animal soon has an adverse effect on his wife and children, influencing them into enacting their darkest, most hidden desires.
Dark Smith (James Duval) is an alienated, 18-year-old young man struggling with daily life, fluctuating romantic status with his bisexual, polyamorous girlfriend Mel (Rachel True) and conflicting feelings for a shy gay classmate, Montgomery (Nathan Bexton). The day starts off normally enough with Dark meeting up with his friends which include the intelligent Dingbat (Christina Applegate), Montgomery, Mel and her purple-haired, acid-tongued lesbian lover Lucifer (Kathleen Robertson) for breakfast at their local coffeehouse hangout, The Hole. Various mentions of a party at Jujyfruit's (Gibby Haynes) along with plans for a drug-fueled game of kick-the-can are made and the story segues into portions of the goings-on of the lives of other characters.