WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE (1995) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Writer/Director: Todd Solondz Starring: Heather Matarazzo, Angela Pietropinto, Bill Buell, Brendan Sexton Jr, Matthew Faber, Daria Kalinina, Eric Mabius
I can distinctly remember junior high as being the worst days of my life. Not only was I picked on more than O.J. at a comedy club, but my self-loathing sense of humor had yet to be developed, which would later cushion the blows of anyone and everyones' mockery aimed at me. Not only was my last name mispronounced more than "Sade" is, but I actually took it personally. Not only that, but for about a year, I was referred to as "Erection Boy" because my jeans made a little adjutting in a particular area. Those were the days, my friend.
What "Welcome to the Dollhouse" does is present an accurate, darkly comic view of an entire school year (I think seventh) in the life of the most-picked on student in a Junior High School: Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo). In the first scenes, we see her being picked on as "Wiener Dog" (ha ha), be called a lesbian by a bunch of vapid cheerleaders, and suffer one of the most horrific aspects of those lovely years: the journey for somewhere to sit during lunch.
Dawn seems to be the patron saint of the admonished: she's everybody's target. Even a poor helpless little nerd who she tries to help after he has been picked on by some other students calls her a name. You would think a girl like this could escape this world when she goes home. Guess again. She was blessed with being the middle child, and her parents (Angela Pietropinto and Bill Buell) obviously prefer her the least of all. Her older brother (Matthew Faber) is a near genius, always working towards college, like forming a band just so it can go on his record. And her younger sister (Daria Kalinina) is mommy's little princess, always doing ballet, and is cute as an Olsen Twin.
Instead of just meandering around her being picked on, the film introduces little elements into her life. One day, she finds that her brother is helping out a slacker, angst-filled wannabe musician (Eric Mabius), who she immeadiately falls into a crush with. He joins the band, making them sound better, and she starts a sick obsession with him (in one scene, hysterically trying to feed him, and play the piano for him while he waits for her brother).
Also comes a mean Nick Stahl-looking jerk (Brendan Sexton Jr) who picks on her, and one day threatens to rape her after school. When she actually shows up, they start a bizarre and meaningful relationship, and we find out exactly why he's that way over the course of the film, although there's no turning back for him.
The director wisely doesn't let her get away without any blame. She's a selfish, talentless girl, who does all she can to become popular, not only never suceeding, but actually burning her bridges on her hopeful way to selfish popularity. She has a friend who's also very unpopular, but she begins turning her back on him gradually throughout the film. And whenever she tries to stoop to the level of her perpetrators (i.e. doing the old spit ball back at them), she makes things horribly worse.
The never pulls any of his punches. The ugly duckling never blossoms into some kind of Ariana Richards mutation, and she doesn't end up like the protagonist at the end of a John Hughes flick. At the end, she is semi-optimistic about the next school year, but you know that it might actually be worse.
The direction and writing by Todd Solondz (who, if you've ever seen a picture of, would realize that this might be an autobiographical story...well, slightly) is incredible. He paints a surprisingly intelligent portrayal of Junior High, deepening the parts that go on in the film instead of letting them just lie as cruel jokes. The bizarre thing that he pulls off is that while the students, and her family mock Dawn, we find ourselves laughing along with them until we catch ourselves and find ourselves either identifying with the distraught Dawn, or discovering how cruel we were to these poor kids...or both.
"Welcome to the Dollhouse" is an amazing little film that was snubbed for any Oscar nominations. They called this year the year of the independent film, but if it was truly the year of the independent film, they would have nominated this (and "Fargo" or "Trainspotting" would have won best picture). Now, I'm not going to get into my view on the Oscars, but I think a nomination for the screenplay would have been pretty cool. But nevertheless, this is a fantastically executed film, and a wonderful black comedy.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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