Steven Schoichet is browbeaten at every turn, by his family, his dead-end job, the faceless suburb where he still lives at home. That is until he decides to make a change: Ventriloquism--hey, a dream's a dream. His family barely pays him enough attention to even dismiss the idea--his mother is only concerned that he eat something, and his father only thinks of his model ships. Steven's sister recently broke off her engagement to an unstable accountant, which makes her career as a wedding planner an emotional minefield. His only supporter is neighbor Fangora--aka Fanny--a suburban punker who has her own aspirations to stardom. After Steven loses his job, things actually start to turn around. He falls for his counselor at the unemployment office, and through the best efforts of Steven and the little friend on his knee, good things start to happen for everyone around him. A restraining order leads to new love, a rock band learns Yiddish, and everything clicks into place at somebody else's wedding.—Sujit R. Varma