Bernard Litko and Danny Shapiro are best friends and also colleagues. The two spend their time in bars discussing women’s nature. The play begins with Shapiro enquiring from Litko about the sexual skills of a woman whom he (Litko) slept with. On the other hand, Deborah Solomon and Joan Webber stay in the same room in Chicago and discuss men’s erratic behaviors. Joan is rude towards men and cautions Deborah against them. Indeed, Joan seems strict with men because she first turned down Bernie’s advances. However, Danny succeeds in courting Deborah. The love between Danny and Deborah intensifies.
Nevertheless, Bernard and Joan are cold towards one another. Joan isn’t a fan of men, while Bernard brags about his sexual exploitation of women to inquire about their nature. Initially, things seem to be going on well with Danny and Deborah. As a result, the two decide to live together. No sooner had they moved in together than things started going south. Their relationship starts crumbling. David Mamet, the author, describes how Danny and Deborah meet, fall in love with one another, have sex, move in together, and call it quits to the amusement of Bernard and Joan.
The play explores the conflict of interest between Joan and Bernard. While Joan displays a hostile personality against the opposite gender, Bernard shows off his sexual prowess against women. The play makes readers believe that Joan is very depressed and uses hostility as a defense mechanism. Readers are also left thinking that Bernard is living in denial and recounts imagined sexual exploits to conceal that he is homosexual. Eventually, Bernard and Danny are having fun on the beach talking about women’s private parts of the body.
