Welcome to the Dollhouse is a stark suburban comedy about 11-year-old Dawn Wiener, a middle child in middle school in the middle of New Jersey. Sometimes hated, often reviled, seldom understood, Dawn tries in vain to put on a happy and friendly face as she struggles through the onset of what looks to be a long puberty. Nevertheless, she does find moments of grace amidst the pain and humiliation of her first series of frustrated love affairs, and soon beings to wonder if life might not be better outside New Jersey.