Welcome to the Dollhouse
Scott Hardie: “It ruled.”
After enjoying Happiness and Storytelling so much, I knew I couldn't last long without seeing Todd Solondz's most famous film. It is certainly his most painful, as young Dawn Weiner (three-dimensional though she is) stands as a universal symbol for all of us who were once geeky adolescents, while the main characters in his other films stand only for themselves. What Dawn experiences here is a knuckle-chenching nightmare of childhood torments, and if you experienced painful ones yourself, this film may go beyond catharsis and actually reopen old wounds. Strong as the film is, I found it the least satisfying of Solondz's three films (I have not seen his disowned "Fear, Anxiety & Depression") because it doesn't build to any result: the scenes accumulate instead of adding up. I also didn't laugh much, but that's my problem. If you're in the mood for an 87-minute Pathetic Geek Story, this is the rental for you.
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