Lester becomes infatuated with Jane 's vain friend , Angela Hayes , after seeing her perform a half @-@ time dance routine at a high school basketball game . He starts having sexual fantasies about Angela , in which red rose petals are a recurring motif . Carolyn begins an affair with her married business rival , Buddy Kane . When Lester 's boss , Brad , tells him that he is to be laid off , Lester instead blackmails him for $ 60 @,@ 000 and quits his job . Lester takes a minimum @-@ wage job at a fast @-@ food restaurant , trades in his Toyota Camry for his dream car , a 1970 Pontiac Firebird , and starts working out after he overhears Angela tell Jane that she would find him sexually attractive if he got in shape . He begins smoking marijuana supplied by Ricky . The girls ' friendship wanes after Jane starts a relationship with Ricky . Jane and Ricky bond over what Ricky considers the most beautiful imagery he has filmed : a plastic bag being blown in the wind .