WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE
A film review by Larry McGillicuddy
Copyright 1996 Larry McGillicuddy
**** (out of 4) Written and Directed by Todd Solondz Starring Heather Matarazzo, Eric Mabius, Brendan Sexton Jr., Telly Pontidis, Herbie Duarte
Review- There was a scene in Welcome to the Dollhouse that shocked me into silence. It is when the main character makes a speech to an auditorium of junior high students, and they all start teasing her in unison. The same exact thing happened to me in high school. It is filmed with such stunning in your face realism it brought back the same exact feelings I had when it happened to me. The whole movie is like that.
Heather Matarazzo stars as a Junior High student with the unfortunate name of Dawn Weiner. She is more than just a little awkward in her appearance. her brother is a computer geek who seemingly only does anything because "it'll look good on my college transcripts." Her sister is a ballerina who sleeps with her dolls and spends much of the movie dancing around in the front yard. Her parents undoubtedly favor the other two children over her. Life isn't going very well for her to say the least.
Two people enter her life, which starts causing some turmoil. One of them is the lead singer of her brother's band, a hunky rebellious type who Dawn is instantly attracted to. There is a hilarious scene where she fills him up with junk food trying to get him to stay at her house longer. The other guy that enters her life is Brandon, a popular classmate of Dawn's who is very cruel to her. There are some very interesting twists involving his character, perfectly played by Brendan Sexton Jr.
First time writer-director Todd Solondz makes a stunning debut. He gives you scenes of unrelenting realism and angst, then cuts to outright humor, only to stun you with angst once again. Heather Matarazzo delivers an amazing performance. She is a true discovery, able to perfectly capture the awkwardness and pain of her character. It is a masterful portrayal. I drove 3 hours to see Welcome to the Dollhouse, and it was well worth it. It is the first truly great movie of the year.
****- Terrific ***- Good **- Below Par *- Very Bad NO Stars- Avoid at all costs.
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