NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

sharky_55 Many similar Dawn Weiners of the past will empathise with what Todd Solondz channels in Welcome to the Dollhouse. That terror-stricken walk in the cafeteria, clutching lunch tray and desperately trying to find a place to fit in is a cliché because it rings true - belonging is a see-sawing struggle in junior high. It's a pity because despite the intentions of Solondz to find a delicate balance and sensibility of the 11 year old girl who feels the whole world is against her, it becomes less a dark comedy and more a over-the-top caricature with a mean streak behind it. Overloading the main character with woe after woe and a barrage of insults and dumb luck is just as boring and uninspiring as the character whom has nothing go wrong for them. To signal her complete underdog status, the big-nosed Heather Matarazzo is cast, but that's not enough, we have to stick spectacles on her face too. Nerd, the bullies might jeer. And there are so, so many of them. An entire assembly chants insults in a tender moment. She is branded a lesbo almost immediately by the usual mean cheerleaders. Her parents flat out hate her, and hide this behind big, fake smiles. Even her little sister is some conniving little evil genius, undermining her in the background then putting on a angelic, beaming look of love. Ugh. It is to no surprise that its best moments are the ones that surprise Dawn, and the ones that are low key. In these brief scenes Slondz shows an actually understanding of the 11 year old besides a potty mouthed bully. Brandon lashes out in anger at her, and tells her to not be late for her 'rape', but at this age it is suggested that he does possess that kind of malice, nevertheless know what rape is. So he tries to get out of it, but still maintain his outward persona - oh you might be late to get home, so I won't rape you just yet. These are just kids, and they barely understand sexuality, but can feel it blossoming in spades and tug at their heartstrings. There's a certain sweetness in the way Dawn fawns over the older, handsomer version of Brandon, Steve, and how she attempts to impress him by feeding him jello and playing a piano piece. And Mark may the only family member who does not treat Dawn like a little pest; there's no malice or intent to intimidate as he tells his little sister that high school is just more of the same. He simply presents it as a fact of life. For all its mess, the ending is a quiet, unassuming one - there's no moment of inspired change, no resolve to fight back, but just an acceptance that things will go on their way. Unfortunately these moments of quiet contemplation are far and few. Solondz throws challenge after challenge at young Dawn; to the point that any 11 year old would collapse and rage, and then expects her to behave, to take it on the chin, to put down the hammer, because its just another day in the life of kid. Paradoxically he expects the subject matter to be taken seriously - for abuse, for drugs, for kidnappings to ring hard and true. But they don't, they hide behind a layer of comedy. Oh, he was just videotaping her doing pirouettes. The movie is funny, of course. But it goes beyond and above until it becomes absurdly dark and it becomes uncomfortable to laugh. The sneering Lolita, wearing a choker and a nasty glare, traps Dawn and waits for her to sh*t right there in the moment. The dialogue is filled to the brim with uncharacteristic profanity, as if Solondz wants to be hard hitting and genuine. "I didn't mean to be a c*nt", murmurs Dawn. This is supposed to be a sweet, subverted moment of naivety for her, a genuine instance of her attempting to act older than her age suggests. But it seems so facile.

modrngarde This is an excellent satire of middle class America, where the protagonist experiences alienation from peers and family alike. Dawn rarely has meaningful moments or bonds, and when she does, it is transient. The fact that she ends up spurning her only friend is a cutting, realistic portrayal of the food chain - being picked on, and doing it to someone else. Yet this film is not deeply depressing. Dawn never gives up in a way, she keeps going despite the jeers. Todd Solondz shows no mercy in his portrayal of parenting, childhood and bullies. Interactions with people are often an irritation, something to be tolerated but is not particularly pleasant. This is a movie that shows what it's like when your loved ones apparently don't give a s*** about you.

Lee Eisenberg If you've never heard of Todd Solondz, then I should explain that "Welcome to the Dollhouse" is probably the most watchable. His movies - at least the few that I've seen - are always complete downers, containing characters who are either sickos, helpless, or something similar. His first notable movie concerns Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo), a New Jersey middle school girl ostracized by everyone around her. The only boy who gives her any good advice is totally pitiful himself. Dawn's entire life is one big FML.I recommend "WTTD", but with the caution that it IS a total downer. Hell, you might not even end up liking it. But it is worth seeing.

tnrcooper This film well encapsulates the horrors of middle school, perhaps more than was your experience, but the point is well taken. This unfortunately-named girl (Dawn Wiener), whose plight is not helped by her gawky looks, nerdiness, and refusal to take her punishment lying down, brings the pain of middle school into sharp relief. Having read a lot of the comments on IMDb, it's clear that this movie resonates with many. Landmark director Todd Solondz doesn't shrink from depicting the most cringe-inducing, skin-peeling, soul-destroying tortures inflicted by kids on their peers during those difficult tweener/teen years. Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo) lives with a mother who has no idea of the pain in which her daughter is in and with a father with no guts to intervene to his wife on his daughter's behalf. Her older brother is an academic success, although also very nerdy and her younger sister is the belle of the ball who can do no wrong in her mother's eyes.Solondz has constructed a very plausible hell in which his young protagonist suffers. She has no friends save for one boy who is the only other member of her "Special People Club". Her locker is the site of some particularly vitriolic abuse (although, having worked at schools, I found it implausible to believe that no teacher would have intervened to have the abuse removed), she is called "lesbo" and one girl who is particularly nasty will not let her leave the restroom without taking a crap.I liked the fact that this protagonist does not take the abuse lying down. Solondz creates such a good movie that he does not make Wiener into a wallflower. Indeed, she reacts in sometimes callous ways, taking out the anger she feels on someone less powerful than her. It's not necessarily pretty, but it's human nature. She reacts in anger to several things and I found this refreshing. She is not depicted as an ineffectual person. She fights back against her treatment-which people do, in real life-and Solondz deserves credit for this characterization of his protagonist. This really is a tough film to watch but I think this is one many young teens and tweeners would do well to watch and discuss with their parents because it could be a jumping-off point for a discussion about bullying and cruelty at this very difficult age.