Plot
In Ireland, the heavily indebted village of Ballywood is almost entirely owned by greedy real estate mogul Lord Hailstock. Hailstock, an English Protestant, is bigoted against the residents of Ballywood because they are all Irish Catholics, and gloats to the residents that he will soon own every building in the village after he purchases Finnigan's Pub, which he has foreclosed on. The villagers, mostly employed by Hailstock, are unable to raise the money needed to stave off the foreclosure, so they formulate a plan to raise money by sponsoring an international poetry contest, with each entry costing $5 and the winner receiving the deed to the pub.
In South Central Los Angeles, James "Jimmy Da Jam" McDevitt is a wisecracking African-American hustler unable to pay his landlord as well as other creditors. Jimmy ekes out a living through grifting and break-dancing on the street for spare change, but after he is evicted from his apartment and attacked by his violent ex-fiancée he recently left at the wedding altar. Jimmy hears about the contest in the newspaper and decides to enter. Despite plagiarizing the lyrics to a rap song from an artist named Dirty Dime for his poem, Jimmy is selected as the winner of the contest by Kathleen Duffy, the mute daughter of Maureen, the pub's folk singer.
The plan is a success and raises over $1 million for the villagers and Jimmy accepts the pub. The villagers are excited to meet Jimmy, as they assume he is a typical white Irishman based on his surname, until he arrives in Ballywood, much to their confusion. Despite his initially brash mannerisms and nonstop patter, Jimmy offers drinks on the house to everyone on his first night in business. His ideas that were considered hair-brained in the big city seem fresh in Ballywood, and most of the villagers quickly warm up to him. Although Maureen initially doesn't care for Jimmy, she soon realizes that despite his idiosyncrasies, he has a good heart and Kathleen views him as a father figure.
All the locals like Jimmy except Milos O'Shea, who is secretly working for Hailstock in an attempt to get the plan to fail so Hailstock can buy the town. Hailstock is planning to demolish the village and build a ridiculous theme park called "Leprechaun Land", based on offensive Irish stereotypes. Despite Milos attempting to convince the villagers to boycott the pub on the basis of Jimmy's race, Maureen's father, Pat Duffy, points out the similarities between the histories of the Irish and forcibly relocated Africans in the United States. Frustrated that his plans aren't working, Milos attacks Jimmy one night in the hopes of driving him out of the town.
Jimmy recovers in Maureen's home, and bonds with her and Kathleen, which frustrates Michael O'Malley, who is in love with Maureen and wants to marry her. Jimmy tells Michael that nothing could happen between him and Maureen and encourages him to keep pursuing her heart, but Maureen slowly begins to fall for Jimmy. Maureen tells Jimmy that Kathleen has been mute for years, ever since witnessing her father die in a car accident. Hailstock reaches out to Jimmy and asks if he would be willing to sell the pub to him and Jimmy says that they will be able to make a deal.
Soon after, two Japanese investors, Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Yamomoto, reach out to Hailstock and tell him that they will gladly front the money for the amusement park. Hailstock reveals to his Irish indentured servant, Mr. Pettikreep, that the theme park is an elaborate scam, as the village is built on bog land and unsuitable for any major construction. Hailstock intends to scam millions from the Japanese investors and leave the country. In another attempt to get Jimmy out of Ballywood, Milos reveals to the entire village that Jimmy stole the poem. The villagers don't care, but after Milos reveals that Jimmy was preparing to sell the pub to Hailstock, Maureen tells Jimmy that she hates him and leaves in tears.
The next day, Hailstock's bank account is emptied. Jimmy reveals to Hailstock that "Mr. Suzuki" and "Mr. Yamomoto" are actually his friends from Los Angeles, Diamond Jack and Freddie. Jimmy reveals that he and Pettikreep were playing Hailstock all along, as Pettikreep told him that the land was no good and that Hailstock was planning on defrauding his investors. Because they have the copy of the surveyor's report, which would send him to prison for fraud, Jimmy blackmails Hailstock into giving the town back to the villagers and leaving the country. Disgusted, Milos quits and returns to the village.
Realizing she was wrong, Maureen goes to stop Jimmy from leaving on the boat after getting Michael's blessing. Jimmy tells Maureen that he doesn't belong in the village because he was never accepted. The villagers saw him as a hustler, so he decided to show them the biggest hustle they had ever seen. All the villagers, including Milos, arrive to convince him to stay, but Jimmy ignores them. However, he changes his mind after hearing Kathleen speak for the first time. Jimmy decides to stay in Ballywood and marries Maureen. However, his ex-fiancee arrives and crashes the wedding.
