The film opens with a funeral for a young woman; the deceased is Dawn Wiener (the protagonist from Solondz's ''Welcome to the Dollhouse''), who went to college, gained a lot of weight, and committed suicide at age 20 after she became pregnant. Her older brother Mark (Matthew Faber, reprising his role) reads the eulogy while Dawn's tearful parents (Angela Pietropinto and Bill Buell, also reprising their roles) sit in the audience. Dawn's younger sister, Missy, does not attend the funeral. One of the attendees is Aviva, Dawn's cousin.