Ellie, a free-spirited and headstrong young woman is left in charge of a residential home, owned and operated by her older sister Kate, over the Christmas holidays. Her youth and inexperience bring her into bitter conflict with the four grumpy old residents known as the "Hard Core": retired screen beauty Georgia, spinster sisters Hazel and Heather, and a reformed alcoholic judge, Donald. The film deals with the hilarious antics of these uncivilized seniors, the gradual solidarity that develops between the residents and Ellie, and an unlikely romance.