Intrigue

In a parallel modern-day Stone Age world, a working-class family, the Flintstones, are set up for an executive job. But they learn that money can't buy happiness.

The Flintstones and the Rubbles are modern stone-age families. Fred and Barney work at Slate and Company, mining rock. Fred gives Barney some money so he and Betty can adopt a baby. When Fred and Barney take a test to determine who should become the new associate vice president, Barney returns the favor by switching his test answers for Fred's, whose answers aren't very good. Fred gets the executive position, but little does he know that he's being manipulated by his boss to be the fall guy for an embezzlement scheme.—Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>

Based on the classic Hanna Barbera animated series. In a modern stone age town called Bedrock, there lives loveable Fred Flintstone along with his wife Wilma and their daughter Pebbles. When Fred gives some money to his best friend Barney Rubble, both Barney and his wife Betty adopt a young boy named Bamm Bamm who becomes fast friends with Pebbles. Determined to return Fred's kindness, Barney switches tests with him in a contest for a promotion. Fred gets the position and for a while everything is good for him. However, little does Fred know is that his newfound position is tearing him and his friends and family apart and that the promotion is all part of a sinister plot for embezzlement of the company.—Blazer346

In prehistoric suburban Bedrock at Slate & Co., dinosaurs are used to move rocks around in quarry mines. Cliff Vandercave (Kyle MacLachlan), the executive vice president of industrial procurement of the company, explains to his co-worker Sharon Stone (Halle Berry) that he will swindle the company and flee with its fortune. He suggests that he will use Fred Flintstone (John Goodman) to carry out his plans, as he considers Fred to be dumb and clueless and perfect for the role of a patsy.

While Fred leaves work for the day, Barney Rubble (Rick Moranis) is overjoyed that he is about to become a father because Fred loaned him money so he could adopt a child. After returning home, Fred is questioned by his wife, Wilma (Elizabeth Perkins) about missing money from the bank account and confesses that he loaned the money Barney so he and his wife, Betty (Rosie O'Donnell) could adopt a child. After adopting a cave boy named Bamm-Bamm who can only pronounce his own name, Barney appreciates what Fred did for him and is determined to pay him back. Though initially hard to control because of his super strength, Bamm-Bamm eventually warms up to his new family and befriends Fred's daughter Pebbles. Despite his mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople's (Elizabeth Taylor) protestations, Fred's wife Wilma remains supportive of his decision to loan the Rubbles money.

Cliff holds an aptitude test, with the worker with the highest mark becoming the company's new vice executive president. While taking the test, Fred fails it and is disappointed since he will not be able to give Wilma the wealthy life she used to have back at her own home with her mother. To pay him back for giving him the money to adopt Bamm-Bamm, Barney (who did well on the exam) swaps his exam sheet with Fred's knowing that had he not done that, Fred would have failed the test. Fred is promoted to Vice President.

On Fred's first day as an executive, Cliff brings him to his new office. Cliff also has Stone appointed as his secretary knowing that Fred's attraction to her will lead him astray to the plot. To test Fred's willingness to follow orders, Cliff asks him to dismiss Barney who, with Fred's test paper, has the lowest score in the company. Though Fred is unwilling to fire him, he reluctantly accepts, but continues to help Barney support his family, even inviting the Rubbles to live with them so that they can rent out their house. However, Fred's job and newfound wealth eventually hinder his relationships with Wilma and the Rubbles.

Cliff proposes a new machine that will do all of the quarry work and increase the company's income. Fred is concerned about the operators losing their jobs. Cliff plans to have a fake version of the machine built and flee with the money gained from the machine, and frame Fred for it.

Fred nearly figures out about Cliff's plan, so Stone aggressively seduces him, and Fred finally gives in to his desires, but is interrupted by Wilma. The Rubbles move into the Flintstones' house, causing tension between the Flintstones and the Rubbles, while the Flintstones' wealth increases.

While out at a restaurant, Barney, now working as a busboy, sees on the news that Fred has fired all of the quarry operators. He confronts him about it, and their argument leads to Barney revealing that he switched their tests. The Rubbles moves out with Betty and Bamm-Bamm. Wilma and Pebbles also leave for Pearl's house, leaving Fred behind.

Fred goes to the quarry, discovers Cliff's plan, and tries getting Mr. Slate (Dann Florek) to fire Cliff. However, having manipulated the events to make it look as if Fred stole the money, Cliff has reported the theft to the police. Fred flees, but a manhunt ensues by both the police and the fired workers. Wilma and Betty see this on the news and break into Slate & Co. to get the Dictabird, the only witness who can clear Fred's name, unaware that Cliff saw them from his office window.

As a disguised Fred enters the workers' cave, he is discovered, and the workers try hanging him. When Barney shows up as a Sno-cone truck driver, the workers also try to hang him as well when he admits his role in the events. Fred and Barney reconcile before Wilma, Betty and the Dictabird save them and Wilma and the Dictabird tell the workers that Cliff was the one who fired them in order to frame Fred, then the workers hear a story from the Dictabird about what Cliff was doing in his office.

When the Flintstones and Rubbles return home, they find it burglarized with Dino and Pearl tied up and Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm gone. The group finds a note from Cliff saying that he will trade the children for the Dictabird. Fred and Barney confront Cliff at the quarry, where Cliff has tied Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm to a huge machine. Though they hand him the Dictabird, Cliff activates the machine to stall them. Barney rescues the children while Fred destroys the machine. The Dictabird escapes from Cliff and lures him back to the quarry, where Stone incapacitates him, having had a change of heart after learning of Cliff's plan to betray her. The police, Wilma, Betty, and Mr. Slate arrive and Cliff attempts to escape, but he is killed by a substance falling from the machine.

Fred and the Dictabird tell the police of Cliff's actions and all charges against Fred are dropped. Impressed with the substance that Fred inadvertently created by destroying the machine, Mr. Slate dubs the substance "concrete" in honor of his daughter Concretia and declares the stone age over.

Mr. Slate asks for the workers to be rehired and makes plans to produce the concrete with Fred leading its division. Having experienced the negatives of wealth and status, Fred declines the offer and asks that the workers be given two weeks paid leave as part of their salary among other benefits, preferring to return to his old life.