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Welcome To The Dollhouse
1995
Todd Solondz's WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE follows the painful daily trials of Dawn 'Wienerdog' Wiener (Heather Matarazzo), an awkward, nerdy 12-year-old. The middle child between her geeky older brother, Mark (Matthew Faber), and her sickeningly sweet little sister, Missy (Daria Kalinina), Dawn has a rough time with her family .. Read more
| Starring | Heather Matarazzo, Victoria Davis, Christina Brucato, Christina Vidal |
|---|---|
| Director | Todd Solondz |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
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Welcome To The Dollhouse
Todd Solondz's WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE follows the painful daily trials of Dawn 'Wienerdog' Wiener (Heather Matarazzo), an awkward, nerdy 12-year-old. The middle child between her geeky older brother, Mark (Matthew Faber), and her sickeningly sweet little sister, Missy (Daria Kalinina), Dawn has a rough time with her family and everything else, including school and boys. She's obsessed with Mark's hunky bandmate, Steve (Eric Mabius), but the only guy who pays her any attention is the local thug, Brandon (Brendan Sexton III), who constantly threatens her with rape. With startling accuracy and humour, Solondz captures the hell known as junior high in his blow-by-blow account of Dawn's difficult life. One of the darkest and funniest tales of adolescence ever filmed, DOLLHOUSE serves as a grateful reminder that puberty strikes only once.
| Starring | Heather Matarazzo, Victoria Davis, Christina Brucato, Christina Vidal, Siri Howard, Brendan Sexton III, Eric Mabius |
|---|---|
| Director | Todd Solondz |
| Studio | ARTIFICIAL EYE |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 28 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 26 Sep 2005 Production year: 1995 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Before he made his name with the controversial Happiness (1998), Todd Solondz also raised a few eyebrows with this truthful look at the nightmares of growing up. Eleven-year-old New Jersey misfit Dawn Wiener (a superb performance from young Heather Matarazzo) has all the problems of an average schoolgirl, and more: she has an unrequited crush on her brother's friend, is being threatened by the school tough guy and is overlooked by her mother in favour of her ballet-dancing younger sister. Thanks to Solondz's original ideas, no-holds-barred script and determination never to stray into sentimentality, plus an impressive young cast of new talent, this is a fascinating and ironic look at teenage life.
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Whether at school or at home in the New Jersey suburbs, 11-year-old Dawn Wiener has a miserable time of it. Ostracised... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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42 out of 42 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
The Opposite Of Blonde
Imagine what it must be like for Heather Mattarazo to look back at herself playing the role of Dawn Wiener, the ultra under'dog' that even the most bullied boy in the school picks on rather than allies with. How ironic must it be that in one of the first cruel exchanges she gets accused of being a 'lesbo' and yet now she is one of the few out and proud Hollywood gay female actresses.
Heather is a gorgeous, strong actress who does not shy away from 'the difficult' roles, yet it must be even more uncomfortable to look back at this uncompromisingly nasty look at junior high's effect on kids for her than it is for the audience- she declined reprising her role of Dawn Wiener for Todd Solonz' 'Palindromes'.
Welcome To The Dollhouse is the antithesis to the likes of Mean Girls and Clueless, looking at the damage that school can do to children, the hell they get put through and the feeble attempts they make to cope with it all- the view here being definitely from under the table looking up at the likes of Alicia Silverstone and Lindsay Lohan.
It is a very well observed piece with great, natural performances, rather than polished and glossy deliveries of snappy quotes. The dialogue is spot on and the humour as black as the night. Definitely not one of the easiest films to watch, Welcome To The Dollhouse is a very rewarding, clever film that demands looking deeper and refuses to play by the rules of the run-of-the-mill high school movie, including the absence of a neatly bundled up ending.
SEE THIS IF YOU LIKED
* HEATHERS
* LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
* HIGH SCHOOL MOVIES, BUT YOU'D LIKE SOMETHING A BIT DARKER!
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- hunkydomste from Liverpool
- Posted 26 Jul 2008 10:29
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Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Dark, funny, wierd (in a good way!)
This movie is like an anti-Wonder Years. It reflects the angst and discomfort of school years and the shadow side for those who never believed the awful lie that school days are 'the best of your life'.
Clearly Todd Salondz had a pretty sh**ty time in the stifling atmosphere of the burbs, although this movie is actually more optimistic than the ultra dark and cynical 'Happiness' and 'Storytelling'.
There are some hilarious moments, the cheesy music of Weiner Dog's brothers band. Also the eerily realistic way in which Weiner Dog seems to be speaking as if reading a particularly melodramatic autocue for a bad soap. That's how I remember being in my teens! -
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