Ben Gottlieb (Jason Schwartzman) is a cantor who’s lost his voice, his faith, and his purpose following the sudden death of his novelist wife. His obtuse rabbi (Robert Smigel), his doting mother (Caroline Aaron), and his overeager stepmother (Dolly de Leon) are all very ready for him to snap out of it, maybe date a little, and re-engage with his community.

But Ben, beset on all sides by miseries, large and small, is not convinced—until his grade school music teacher, Carla (Carol Kane), re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student. Where all the authority figures and institutions in his life seem to leave Ben cold, it’s Carla who gives Ben a much-needed kick in the ass, inspiring him to reconnect with humanity while, simultaneously, he leads her to reconnect with her faith.