Plot

Mild-mannered, but dirt poor hill dweller Jed Clampett strikes it rich when oil is discovered on his property. At his cousin Pearl's insistence, he moves the family to Beverly Hills to better enjoy his newfound wealth.

Jed Clampett and kin move from Arkansas to Beverly Hills, when he becomes a billionaire, after an oil strike. The country folk are very naive with regard to life in the big city, so when Jed starts a search for a new wife, there are inevitably plenty of takers and con artists ready to make a fast buck.—Rob Hartill

While hunting in the backwoods of Arkansas, poor mountaineer Jedediah "Jed" Clampett (Jim Varney) accidentally strikes an oil well worth $1 billion. That evening, Aunt Pearl (Linda Carlson) and Cousin Jethro Bodine (Diedrich Bader) advise Jed to sign a contract with Ozark Mountain Oil and move somewhere more luxurious, such as Beverly Hills, California. Jethro, Jed, and daughter Elly May Clampett (Erika Eleniak) pack their belongings in Jethro's dilapidated jalopy, strapping their resistant Granny, Daisy May Moses (Cloris Leachman), to her wooden chair on top of the car.

Awaiting their arrival in California, Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills President Milburn Drysdale (Dabney Coleman) expects the newcomers to be refined and sophisticated individuals. As personal overseer of their account, Mr. Drysdale finds them a mansion in his affluent neighborhood and convinces his layabout son, Morgan (Kevin Connelly), to show Elly May around the local high school. Meanwhile, the conniving but dim-witted bank employee Woodrow Tyler (Rob Schneider) plans to extort the Clampetts with the help of his money-grubbing girl friend, Laura Jackson (Lea Thompson).

Once they reach Beverly Hills, the bewildered Clampetts pull up to their lavish estate and explore the property, but Mr. Drysdale's assistant, Jane Hathaway (Lily Tomlin), mistakes them for burglars and telephones police. At the police station, Miss Hathaway and Mr. Drysdale are shocked to learn the rednecks are the Clampett billionaires. Although Mr. Drysdale fires Miss Hathaway, the kindhearted Jed requests she be reinstated as the family's personal assistant. Concerned that any dissatisfaction will prompt the Clampetts to withdraw their money from his bank, Mr. Drysdale allows Jethro to drive his expensive Rolls Royce and promises him the position of vice president at his company.

When Jed announces his intention to marry, Miss Hathaway is charged with finding him a wife. The Clampetts invite their new friends to dinner, which takes place at the family's billiard table. As Woodrow Tyler barges in with a bouquet of flowers to welcome the Clampetts, he overhears Jed suggesting the beautiful but tomboyish Elly May should be more genteel, like her late mother. Jed is receptive to Mrs. Drysdale's idea of hiring a French tutor, and Tyler shares this information with Laura. Intending to sabotage Jed's prospective engagement, Laura poses as a French governess named "Laurette Voleur."

As the Clampetts settle in, Jethro begins work at the bank and helps Miss Hathaway write a personal advertisement to find Jed a suitable partner. Tyler eavesdrops, and Laura uses her newfound knowledge of Jed's favorite foods and music to charm him. Despite Miss Hathaway's attempts at discretion, Jethro rents a flashy billboard on Sunset Boulevard and produces a television commercial, drawing thousands of interested suitors to the office.

At the high school, Elly May invites the student body to watch as she challenges a wrestling captain who has been bullying Morgan. She easily defeats him, and the coach asks her to take over as the team leader.

Later, the Clampetts throw a birthday party for Jed, and everyone is impressed when Elly May arrives wearing an elegant evening gown. The new debutante accepts Morgan's request to go on a date, and Miss Hathaway teases Jethro, with whom she has become smitten. While flirting with Jed, Laura plants the idea that she would make a proper wife and mother to Elly May. Jed agrees, and announces their betrothal to the guests.

Once he signs the prenuptial papers, however, distrustful Granny catches Laura conspiring with Tyler about transferring the Clampett family fortune to a Swiss bank account. The two forcibly admit her to a retirement home, claiming she is mentally unstable. Suspecting foul play, Miss Hathaway files a missing persons report with police, and Detective Barnaby Jones uncovers Laura's history of marrying wealthy men and stealing their money.

With only hours until the wedding, Miss Hathaway telephones the Clampett residence to cancel the ceremony, but Tyler intercepts the call and purposely fails to relay the message to Mr. Drysdale. She disguises herself as a nurse and rescues Granny from the retirement home, where she was being treated with electroshock therapy. A swig of Granny's homemade tonic revives her, and she reveals the details of Laura's plan.

Back at the Clampett estate, the ceremony begins, with Jed's large extended family in attendance. Unable to get past security, Granny and Miss Hathaway barge in riding Jethro's jalopy, which was recently outfitted with monster truck wheels. Amid the commotion, Tyler sets up his portable computer to perform the money transfer, but Jane grabs one of the Clampett relative's shotguns and destroys the machine. Once the criminals are arrested, Jed encourages the Clampett clan to carry on with the party.