Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)

What is junior high school but a strange, disorienting pastiche of black comedy, tragedy, soap opera, and (most of all) horror movie? Well, that pretty much describes Todd Solondz's astonishingly honest and clear-sighted film, Welcome to the Dollhouse. Like Solondz's even more controversial follow-up--the acclaimed and despised Happiness (1998)--Dollhouse unflinchingly looks deep into its characters' souls (and their embarrassing desires, and their floundering sexuality) in ways that can be simultaneously disturbing and liberating, appalling and hilarious. Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo) is a hapless seventh-grade geek whose cruel and contemptuous schoolmates have nicknamed her (what else?) "Wiener Dog." Everything about Dawn is so awkward--the way she looks, talks, moves--that it's no wonder other kids dump on her. They're most likely so insecure about themselves that they're terrified of the Wiener Dog they know lurks somewhere down inside themselves, too. So, the best social and psychological survival tactic is to distance themselves from Dawn by relentlessly reminding her of her "place" at the bottom of the junior-high pecking order. Solondz's vision is hardly sentimental, and you wouldn't even call it "compassionate," but it is a moral vision: authentic, undiluted, and, in the end, understanding. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com

Scathing, Wicked, Sad and Funny.

No one does Black Comedy better than Todd Soldonz, and while this won't have one watching through their fingers like his follow-up "Happiness," but this surely will go down as the most-scathing portrayal of junior high ever filmed. Low-budget, but with writing and acting like this I don't need great lighting or a slick production. If you hated junior high, highly reccomended. If you were a Mean Girl or Boy, you will see how your actions affected others. May 26, 2008

A bit depressing to be a fun Dollhouse

Todd Solondz does it again and for a reason. We're introduce to Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo), an awkward seventh grader who is put down by her peers because of her physical appearance. The taunting Dawn endures is extreme and does not come across as even slightly reminiscent of anything that happened in my high school, but this fact does not take away from the empathy we feel for her as she struggles through her daily life. As if school weren't bad enough, Dawn's home life doesn't leave much to be desired. Her older brother Mark (Matthew Faber), is the "king of the geeks". Her parents offer no support either. Dawn's other sibling, Missy (Daria Kalinina), is the darling of the family who can do no wrong. She simply flits around the house in her pink tu-tu and makes Dawn's life look hellish by comparison.

Dawn's life is further complicated by Brandon McCarthy (Brendan Sexton Jr.), the misunderstood juvenile who has taken a liking to her. At the beginning of their "relationship" he tells her he will rape her. This does not happen because of various circumstances, but Dawn ends up falling for this tough guy and eventually losing him when he runs away. Throughout the movie, it appears as if everyone in her life pours their derision upon anything she does, exposing all her weaknesses however carefully they might be hidden. Dawn, in turn, passes this on to the few people that she gets close to.

This was not a realistic depiction of the hells of junior high school. For one thing, girls would pick on other girls, but in no way, whatsoever, would any of them force another to sit on the crapper in front of another as a forms of bullying. These are 11-12 year olds? Uh uh. Maybe 4 years older that would happen, but no one at that age would succumb to a type of humiliation that gross and tasteless.

Our lead character is played brilliantly, and shows her determination in the face of endless adversity - in fact, the acting all around is excellent. But the movie denies the moments of redemption. Such a strong young warrior as Dawn would certainly have had some triumphs to share. While the movie is slow at times, it does pull on your heart string, and is definitely worth watching.


January 9, 2008

Welcome to the Dollhouse

A harrowingly accurate, darkly hilarious look at that time of life most of us would prefer to forget, Solondz's portrait of gawky pre-adolescence visits all the landmarks of childhood hell: peer abuse, sexual awkwardness, and the general sense that people are the source of all misery. Matarazzo is fantastic as the ostracized, alienated tween who suffers the insults and indignities of her peers with stoic resignation. Sexton ("Kids") also registers well as Dawn's cruel, glowering classmate. "Dollhouse" isn't for younger kids, but teens and grown-ups will appreciate its bitingly funny blend of pathos and punishment. July 18, 2007

Hysterical...Helped Me Through Junior High

I was an outsider in grade school and jr. high for no good reason, as is the case for most kids on the "outside". It was really hard for me to deal with things, and I was unsure if things would ever get better.

My mom took me to see "Welcome to The Dollhouse" at the independent movie theatre when it came out. I could uncannily relate to what Dawn was going through, although I'm an only child (which is also difficult, no matter WHAT they say!) My mom and I talked about the movie, and it really put things into perspective Things eventually got better for me, and I figured the same happened to Dawn as well (if she really existed), I felt such a personal connection to Dawn.

It's still a fave of mine because it reminds me how far I have come, and we all have come, from the horrors of junior high.

Watch and enjoy this gem of a movie. It might change your life! :) May 8, 2007

The Curse of a Middle Child or Welcome to Hell!

Just imagine for one second that you are an 11 years old girl with ugly glasses. You are a middle child (the film also known as "Faggots and Retards" or "Middle Child") whose parents divide their love between your older brother who is a computer wiz and a little sister, a pretty ballerina. They have neither time nor interest for you. Your name is Dawn Wiener, and almost every student in your middle school hates you, tells you in your face that you are ugly, and nobody remembers your name, you are called Dog Face or Wiener Dog, and one of your classmates greets you every morning with the words, "I'll rape you today at 3 pm" . The film should be called "Welcome to Hell", and Todd Solondz is our Virgil in this Inferno.

Heather Matarazzo is absolutely terrific. She was able to play both, an archetype of an insecure, unloved, misunderstood, and lost in this cruel world child as well as one very real suffering young girl from New Jersey. I could not forget her Dawn, I wanted to talk her, to tell her that yes, the world is cruel, and she was dealt the mixed cards from the beginning but she could play them, there is always hope, there are books, music, and art. Hang on; I would tell her, you are not going to be an "ugly duckling" forever. You'll take off your stupid glasses, you will grow up, you'll be just fine and you will find friends - just wait. But how can one wait at 11? The time drags so slowly in childhood, and every day is descending to Hell...

One of the best films about the "happy" school years I've ever seen.



March 1, 2007

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