States of Grace

Recently separated and approaching 30, real-estate agent Grace begins a new life with the support of her mother Hilda, her best friend Selma, and Selma's daughter, Tereza. Grace meets two men: a chain smoker named Dudu and a spiritual mystic. As Tereza's birthday approaches, Grace must decide whether to bring Dudu, or leave the city with the mystic.

Grace moves into Selma's building, and soon after meets Eduardo, a millionaire looking to sell his mansion. Later, while running in the park, she meets Andre, a personal trainer. Grace is seduced by Eduardo's allure, but also finds herself diving headfirst into diet and exercise for Andre.

At a concert, Grace meets Pierre, a young emo who immediately intrigues her despite her date the next day with an Orthodox Jew names Moises. As a result, Grace flip-flops between self-indulgent melancholia and a desire to convert to Judaism.

Grace winds up going out with Cabelo, the 18-year-old son of a potential client. In the elevator of Hilda's building, Grace and her mother meet an older conservative soldier. Grace, while turning into an adolescent with Cabelo, becomes involved with the strict major--who she appeals to try to get the teen out of the military.

Grace reconnects with Afonso, a bullied former schoolmate who has become an attractive attorney with one glitch: he is a strict germaphobe. Meanwhile, Grace also finds attraction to an apartment-hunting city councilman who is a champion of the cart-hauling trash pickers.

Grace falls for an elderly client who inspires her to dress older and start thinking about retirement. When her car breaks down while giving him a ride, Grace meets mechanic/handyman Orlando who teaches her some of the tricks of his trade.

Grace meet Bruno, an architect and real-estate appraiser who is prone to mood swings. As she becomes involved with him, Grace finds her own moods shifting. After they break up (with help from Selma and Gilberto), Grace meets an unattractive, badly dressed man whose influence prompts a change in her appearance...for the worse.

Grace consults a dermatologist, Dr. Fernanda, because of an allergy caused by an anti-cellulite cream she bought from a street vendor named Armenio. Armenio is a friend of Gilberto's, who has also bought some imported little blue pills from him. Dr. Fernanda and Grace become intimate friends and take a chance on a different kind of relationship.

Grace meets Wander, a salesman who is radically opposed to consumerism. Enchanted by him, Grace gets rid of nearly her entire wardrobe. At the same time, at a night club, she meets the bohemian Xico. Soon conflict erupts between the two lifestyles. Meanwhile, Hilda and Tereza nearly find out about schoolteacher Selma's surprising new job.

Grace is going out with Giovani, a vain and not-very-bright model--and soon Grace is turning into a fashion doll. But when she shows an apartment to a former schoolmate--an elegant and pretentious man brimming with catch phrases, Grace finds herself oscillating between beauty and scholarship. Later, Gilberto provides a revelation about the dim-witted glamour boy.

Grace meets Juliano, a depressed man with suicidal tendencies, and becomes utterly miserable--to the consternation of Hilda, Selma and Tereza. As Grace sets out on a mysterious excursion with him, Tereza takes part in the finals of the Portuguese Language Olympics. Meanwhile, Juliano hurls himself in front of the car of an Argentinian hunk.

Grace meets a butcher named Marlon Brando on a relationship website. He is a delicate man and a vegetarian, despite his profession. When she decides to donate clothes to charity, Grace goes to Deacon Lucio, a handsome and pious man who does charitable work for the needy. Soon, Grace becomes a specialist in cuts of meat and charitable donations.