The film opens in the year 1958, where steel heiress Edna Buxton (Illeana Douglas) enters a talent contest. Her overbearing mother (Christina Pickles) is at odds with her, arguing that Edna should choose a specific song and wardrobe for the contest. At the contest, Edna swaps dresses with a blue singer named Doris, and even changes her song at the last minute, infuriating her mother, who leaves before seeing Edna win the competition.