John Waters' offbeat comedy sends up the pretensions of the art world as it follows the fortunes of a naive amateur photographer. Pecker (Edward Furlong) makes a living working behind a sandwich shop counter, but comes alive behind the lens of a camera. His snapshots of his odd family and friends are discovered by an art dealer, who decides they are masterpieces and determines to make Pecker the toast of the New York gallery set. But will his new-found fame alienate Pecker from his photographs' subjects, and, in particular, Shelly (Christina Ricci), the woman he loves?