Gil Garcia is at the end of his life. Wounded and bleeding in a church confessional, he tells an unsuspecting Father Wade his tragic story. At a young age, Gil's father takes him to America in search of a better life, forcing him to leave the girl he loves in Mexico. Orphaned shortly after arriving, Gil is taken in by his father's only friend, Dustin, who raises Gil along with his own son, Rod. Fifteen years later, Gil & Rod have yet to find their way in life, still living at home and playing basketball on the streets for money. When cancer overtakes Dustin, they are faced with a funeral bill they cannot afford. Desperately searching for a solution, Rod suggests kidnapping for ransom. Gil knows of the perfect person: a woman married to a wealthy man who would never risk the life of his loved one for the relatively small amount of money in question. But Rod doesn't know the whole truth - the woman is Desdemona, Gil's childhood love from Mexico.

Happy Birthday centers around five very different people who share the same birthday as well as varying problems of self-acceptance, family tensions and unrequited love. There is Kelly, a young lesbian whose life is placed in flux by a phone call from a former close friend; Javed, a Pakistani facing deportation and separation from his American lover to his estranged Islamic family; Tracy, a Taiwanese-born former student whose visit from her overbearing mother forces her back into the closet; Ron, a minister who preaches the ability to convert his sexuality, all the while watching gay porn at home; and Jim, an overweight telemarketer whose success at selling diet pills masks his insecurities. As their birthdays approach, these individuals are forced to confront the struggles that stifle their lives.