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Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)
IMDb Rating 7.3
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Heather Matarazzo Dawn Wiener
Victoria Davis Lolita
Christina Brucato Cookie
Christina Vidal Cynthia
Siri Howard Chrissy
Brendan Sexton III Brandon McCarthy (as Brendan Sexton, Jr.)
Telly Pontidis Jed
Herbie Duarte Lance
Scott Coogan Troy
Daria Kalinina Missy Wiener
Eric Mbius
Mathew Faber
Plot
What is junior high school but a strange, disorienting pastiche of black comedy, tragedy, soap opera, and (most of all) horror movie? Well, that pretty much describes Todd Solondz's astonishingly honest and clear-sighted film, Welcome to the Dollhouse. Like Solondz's even more controversial follow-up--the acclaimed and despised Happiness (1998)--Dollhouse unflinchingly looks deep into its characters' souls (and their embarrassing desires, and their floundering sexuality) in ways that can be simultaneously disturbing and liberating, appalling and hilarious. Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo) is a hapless seventh-grade geek whose cruel and contemptuous schoolmates have nicknamed her (what else?) "Wiener Dog." Everything about Dawn is so awkward--the way she looks, talks, moves--that it's no wonder other kids dump on her. They're most likely so insecure about themselves that they're terrified of the Wiener Dog they know lurks somewhere down inside themselves, too. So, the best social and psychological survival tactic is to distance themselves from Dawn by relentlessly reminding her of her "place" at the bottom of the junior-high pecking order. Solondz's vision is hardly sentimental, and you wouldn't even call it "compassionate," but it is a moral vision: authentic, undiluted, and, in the end, understanding. --Jim Emerson
Movie Details
Genre Comedy; Drama
Director Todd Solondz
Producer Todd Solondz
Writer Todd Solondz
Studio Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Country USA
Language English
Audience Rating R
Running Time 88 mins
Movie Release Date 5/24/1996
Color Color
Personal Details
Format DVD
Seen It Yes
Index 614
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Date 4/26/2006
Product Details
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio 1.85:1
Layers Dual Side, Single Layer
UPC (Barcode) 043396825697
Chapters 28
Release Date 8/3/1999
Subtitles English; French; Spanish
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Talent Files
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes
Scene Selections
Interactive Menus
Digitally Remastered
Links
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