May I Be Frank documents the transformation of Frank Ferrantes life. Frank, a 54 year old Sicilian from Brooklyn finds himself living in San Francisco struggling with addiction and depression. He is severely overweight and must rely on pharmaceutical drugs to combat his Hepatitis C. Frank is looking for a way out, knowing that he needs a change in his life before its too late.
One day Frank unknowingly stumbles into a local restaurant in San Francisco. Café Gratitude, as Frank comes to learn, is a raw, organic and vegan café. Frank becomes friends with the staff and returns to the café where he feels welcomed and free from his collapsing personal life. On one such visit, Frank is asked by a server what is one thing you want to do before you die. Franks response is fall in love one more time, but no one will love me looking the way I do. Inspired by the possibility of helping Frank, the server, named Ryland, invites Frank to come into the café everyday for the next month. Frank will eat only vegan, raw uncooked-food and will practice putting his attention on gratitude and self-worth. Armed with a camera, Ryland soon enrolls his brother and best friend to participate is supporting Franks transformation. The final agreement is made that Frank will not only eat only raw food and practice gratitude, but also get a colonic once a week and visit local holistic practitioners for the next 42 days. Frank turns his life over to Ryland, Conor and Cary, three twenty something young men committed to Franks healing.
What took place over the 42 days wasnt anything the boys or Frank could have expected. Franks life dramatically shifts in ways far beyond his physical body. Initially believing he was just going to lose some weight and get healthy, Frank and the boys had no idea it would affect so many aspects of his life. The film transforms the lives of everyone involved, and through Franks story the viewer is given the opportunity to see transformation for themselves. The film becomes documentation about the human condition, and what it means to really fall in love again.