Welcome To The Dollhouse

Year: 1995

Grade: A-

Country: USA

Director: Solondz

Review

this is a really great movie. here’s another film that starts with a really well constructed screenplay and builds from there. the script is very good, the story is great and the characters are just really well rounded. if i were to try and copy the film i think the hardest part would be capturing that middle ground that solondz is so good at finding. that thin line between an extremely warped sense of humor, teenage coming-of-age melodrama, and cutting commentary. solondz perfectly captures the cycle of abuse and the power play that exists within families and on the schoolyard. at the same time, he is somehow able to interject just the right touches that allow the audience to laugh at what they are seeing while still being very affected by what is taking place. only solondz could write a lines like “what you always gotta be such a cunt?” or “tomorrow – same place, same time – i’m gonna rape you.” for a 12 year old and have it be funny. it’s amazing how within one scene solondz can make us laugh, make us think, and make us want to cry. some of the movie is so exaggerated that it’s funny, but it would be a mistake to discount the film as unrealistic or camp. i think that solondz is trying to capture the adolescent experience, and part of that is overreaction or blowing things out of proportion; anyone who has been young and honestly looked back upon their younger years knows this to be true. from literally the very first scene the camera is trained on dawn’s character, so it makes sense that things are exaggerated here or there. it makes for both good humor and insight into dawn’s world. i think matarazzo (the actress who plays dawn) should get just as much credit as solondz; she is so perfect for this role. her look, the way she eats, the way she talks, all her mannerisms are right on. the supporting cast, too, is both well-drawn and well-played. dawn’s mother, sister, brother, and “boyfriend” brandon are all great (her father doesn’t have much of a role and that’s part of the point). in other words, this film is solid, entertaining, and thought-provoking.