When Carol's overbearing mother and father announce they're coming to visit for Christmas, Carol recruits Nate and Tom to cover up their failed relationships and present a happy facade. However, Nate begins to believe the lie, and considers getting back together with his ex, Janice.

Nathan learns to appreciate Carol's incessant rants after he mimics one of them at work and is rewarded with his own news segment to complain on the air. But when his tirades lack the flair and fervor of his mother's, he secretly devises ways to keep her irritated in order to get new material.