In 1965 Los Angeles, cancer-stricken Marie (Natascha McElhone) and her ten-year-old daughter Charlotte are shocked to learn that one of Marie's former lovers has hired a black cook named Mr. Church (Eddie Murphy) to take care of them during her illness. Over the course of 15 years, Mr. Church becomes a father figure to Charlotte (played as an adult by Britt Robertson), and he even takes her in when she gets pregnant from a one-night stand. Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy).