Uuno is unemployed and his friends try to arrange a job for him. With his imagination, though, and the help of Härski Hartikainen (Spede Pasanen), he somehow manages to avoid all work, until he becomes what he has always dreamt of being - a film star. Uuno's father-in-law has other plans for his occupation, though: since Uuno knows the Dandelion, he has potential for a professor of botany.

Uuno Turhapuro is a lazy man who abhors manual labor, but has the ability to talk himself out of any sticky situation, usually with his long-suffering wife. In this, his first feature film appearance, Uuno embarrasses his wife in public, tricks his best friend, accidentally goes on a diet, and becomes a famous violinist.

Uuno is forced to complete his mandatory military service when it is revealed that he only spent one day in the army in his youth. As is typical of the Turhapuro series his family and friends become closely tied in with these events. His friends Härski Hartikainen and Sörsselssön return to the army for a refresher course and by chance Uuno's father-in-law, Councillor Tuura is made the Finnish Defence Minister. In one of the most memorable scenes, Uuno's wife, Elisabeth, dresses as Uuno and substitutes him for a day as Uuno has an apparently urgent meeting (at a restaurant) and while becoming lost in the woods with a malfunctioning radio, Tuura accidentally declares war on Sweden.

It is the first anniversary of Uuno and Elisabet. Uuno has placed a bet with his friend Härski-Hartikainen a year ago, that if Uuno can take just one year of marriage with Elisabet, Hartikainen will treat him a festive dinner. However, Hartikainen buys a lottery ticket for Uuno, who agrees to deduct it from his debt – and the festive dinner is reduced to a can of milk and half a sausage. As it happens, Uuno becomes the lottery winner of 1.5 million marks, only to soon realize he doesn't own a single penny yet. Mister Tossavainen arrives and offers to finance Uuno before he actually gets the jackpot. Thus, Uuno gets to live a rich live on credit. He buys a raccoon fur, leopard swimming trunks and a couple of Mercedes-Benzes. Women begin to fancy Uuno and so does his father-in-law. As time goes by it is revealed, though, that Uuno is not actually a lottery winner, and so he has to escape the anger of others to Härski's car repair shop.

Uuno Turhapuro is searching for a job and takes a correspondence course in tour guiding. Eventually he gets a job in a small travel agency and takes a group of Finnish tourists to Marbella, Spain. Unfortunately Uuno's father-in-law Tuura is in the group, too, with his wife and daughter, Uuno's wife Elisabet. Tuura tries to get a signature to an important paper from a minister who's having a holiday in the area. Meanwhile, Uuno just relaxes and enjoys the sun.

Uuno disguises as an old man and infiltrates a nursing home for rich old people, where his father-in-law also lives. The ever-hungry Uuno is seduced by the table groaning with food, but as it happens, he never manages to be there at dinnertime. Meanwhile Sörsselssön enters Uuno for a TV competition named This Is My Life, where contestants tell about their life as viewers vote them either to continue or out of the show. The nursing home elderly watch on TV as Uuno tells the show's host his life story.

Uuno moves in flight cargo to Helsinki for the search of a rich, beautiful wife. He buys elegant clothes for eight marks from an estate auction and in two weeks becomes the most pursued bachelor in town, charming all the women. He also starts as a waiter in Vaaleanpunainen sika (Pink Pig), which starts the first quarrels between him and his father-in-law.

Uuno's nose is proved to be so good, that he can smell behind the display window what goods are on the other side. With this fabulous smell talent Uuno is chosen to Police's police-dog school as a student among the other dogs. Meanwhile Director Tuura, Uuno's father-in-law has been chosen to a very high office and thinks that Uuno is just gaining bad reputation for him, so he decides to broake Uuno's and Elisabet's marriage.

Uuno's father-in-law councillor Tuura moves to the country with his wife and daughter Elisabeth. Uuno joins them when it turns out Tuura's mansion is on the construction site of a new road. Tuura however is set on preventing this.

Uuno Turhapuro hits his head and loses his memory. Meanwhile, his friend Härski Hartikainen founds a new peace movement with unorthodox methods.