Lisa Adams

Simmons, best-known for her photographs of miniature rooms populated by dolls and of oversized objects—such as a house, birthday cake, and pistol—balanced on female legs, both human and fake, brings these characters to life in a three-act mini-musical. The film is inspired by three distinct periods of Simmons’s photographic work: vintage hand puppets, ventriloquist dummies and walking objects enact tales of ambition, disappointment, love, loss, and regret. Working with composer Michael Rohaytn ("Personal Velocity") and cameraman Ed Lachman ("The Virgin Suicides" and "Far From Heaven"), Simmons’s puppets come to life in miniature domestic scenes that echo real life.

The rags-to-riches story of small-town all-American sweetheart Debbie Benton working to become a Texas Cowgirl Cheerleader. To afford the bus fare standing between her and that dream, she and her friends start Teen Services but it doesn't pay enough. They find their enthusiasm back when they realize they can get more money by being "good girls" and performing "little favors".