Some people spend their adulthood living out their childhood dream. Only what happens when the dream ends? After 20 years as a roadie for Blue Oyster Cult, Jimmy Testagross (Ron Eldard) has nowhere to go but home. Reluctantly he returns to his mother's (Lois Smith) home in Queens, New York, where he pretends he's only there for a quick visit, and soon realizes that his mother is teetering toward dementia. At the local bar, he runs into his high school crush (Jill Hennessy), now married to his old nemesis (Bobby Cannavale). Building a future for himself means confronting these relationships from the past.

Using a minimalist approach, director Michael Cuesta and co-writer Gerald Cuesta set Roadie over the course of one day and night with three main characters, taking the time to fully explore the dynamics between them. Eldard easily evokes Jimmy's inner frustrations while Hennessy and Cannavale give realistic performances as a pair who never left town but moved on in life. Roadie is about a generation coming to a crossroads in life where you can't escape the past but you can't relive it either.