"At eleven I was at the peak of my creative powers: I was writing stories and playlets, putting together poetry projects. I was absorbed by my "work." At twelve I was no longer reading or writing, just counting off days and checking them off. I was interested in survival." - Todd Solondz

"Welcome to the Dollhouse" owes as much to John Waters as it does "Kids." It's a low-budget, bad-Technicolor excursion into suburban lower-middle-class teenage junior- high-school girl angst. Being the first real film of this kind, it breaks quite a lot of ground before it degenerates into a ridiculous plot twist that doesn't work. Still, the good 75 minutes of the film more than outweigh the bad 15.

Heather Matarazzo is perfect as Dawn Wiener. Dressed up in ridiculous clothes, usually polyester, and forced to wear the most God-awful horn-rimmed glasses, she is the archetypical Junior High nerd. We had a girl much like her in my elementary school. Her unfortunate last name was Mortimer. Everyone hated her simply because she was ugly. Dawn has the same problem here. A school girl even admits unashamedly that this is the reason she hates Dawn, because she is ugly. Also, with the unfortunate last name of Wiener, Dawn gets called all sorts of names. But the taunts do not end with Wiener Dog, she is also called lezbo and worse. ***(double space)*** A majority of the film is spent watching Dawn suffer the indignities of being "the" ugly girl in Junior High and "the middle child" of her dysfunctional suburban family. It might get to be too much if Dawn didn't eventually find some relief from the hatred and indifference coming in the form of a bit of attention from two boys, the very "cool" Steve (Eric Mabius) and the very disturbed Brandon (Brenden Sexton Jr.). The schoolgirl crush Dawn has on Steve is played out to it's obvious conclusion, but the twist and turns in Dawn's relationship with Brandon is quite interesting

As with "Kids," many adults may find this portion of the story disturbing and unreal. Yet those of us who have went through these times with memories intact will find this situation quite accurate. Brandon actually throws over his rather attractive and equally disturbed girlfriend Lolita (Victoria Davis) to spend some time with Dawn. This all begins with a frightening and childish game where Brandon, a rather tough kid who has picked on Dawn, tells her to meet him at 3:00 o'clock. Modernizing the idea of kids meeting in the playground at 3 to fight, here Brandon tells Dawn to meet him after school to get "raped." The first day, she escapes thanks to the arrival of an unexpected adult before anything really happens. Then next day she comes willingly - and the two forge a friendship tinged with romance and sexual tension that is unlike anything we've seen on screen before. The film is daring in drawing a relationship out of these two unlikely friends. But Brandon is really just a confused and awkward child, much like Dawn, unsure of himself, of his world and of his place in it. The chemistry between Matarazzo and Sexton is exhilarating. These are two very talented actors and they breathe life into what might be otherwise unbelievable or overly distressing material.

Writer/Director Todd Solondz has fashioned a film that often fails in it's depiction of reality when plot is exposed. But the true tension and angst of being an outsider in Junior High School could not ring more true. This film understands the dynamics of that time in a young persons life, and revels in it. It shows this in full color and makes no excuses for it. It exists and we wonder how anyone, including ourselves, lived through such vile hatred and torturous situations. Every kid who has ever been humiliated, laughed at, picked on, or called a lezbo or a faggot will understand this film. These confusing, sexually charged times in our lives are brought back to us and at times it is almost unbearable to watch.

Solondz also fills the film with funny and interesting little touches. The most amusing of these is his use of Dawn's little sister (Daria Kalinina) as a character. Dolled up in a pink leotard and frilly tutu throughout almost the entire film, she represents the antithesis of Dawn. Solondz also sets up a very amusing subplot using Dawn's brother (Matthew Faber) as both a computer nerd (who is always talking about getting into a good college) and by showing us his trials in getting a band together. This gives the film a chance to inject a little music into the plot and one of the most charming moments comes when Dawn sings background with the band while they perform a tune called "Welcome to the Dollhouse." Another interesting and true-to-life device he uses here is to have Dawn repeat everything that is said to her back to her younger sister in an attempt to have some sort of power somewhere. Of course, Dawn never gets away with it. Those who have tormented her always get away scot-free while Dawn is always made to suffer whether the victim or the perpetrator.

As I said, Solondz eventually goes into a plot twist that is just a bit too unrealistic for us not to call him on it. Still, the film ends on a poetic note. By the end of "Welcome to the Dollhouse," Dawn may not really know much more than she did in the past, but she has at least had some experiences. She has lived a little, felt a little love, as troublesome as it may have been, and has grown to realize that it may always be this way. In the end, all she can really hope for is to get to High School where, as her brother tells her, it's really only better because it's closer to college and "they'll call you names but not as much to your face." If this isn't a reality of life, I don't know what is.

The Scene that Remains Sexton and Matarazzo at a delapidated area. They have talked and shared much. She asks him if he is still going to rape her. He tells her no but, as he pushes his face into her hair, tells her if she tells anyone he will. She says she will not tell. This sounds revolting but it is actually a tender moment. This is the only way the two know how to express their mutual sexual desire for each other. It also says volumes about their characters confusion and lonliness and misunderstanding of the world they inhabit. Genius.

Note:

With Dimitri Iervolino as Ralphy and Angela Pietropinto and Bill Buell as Dawn's parents.

Music by Jill Wisoff. The music Steve and the Quadratics perform is written by Wisoff and sung by Daniel Rey. Some music performed by The Con Artists. Debbie Gibson's "Lost in Your Eyes" is used effectively.

D of P is Randy Drummond.

Filmed in Caldwell and West Caldwell, New Jersey in 1994.

At one time the film was to be called "Middle Child."

The second unit Director went on to make his own film with Sexton called "Hurricane." It did well as Sundance and was dubbed "Hurricane Streets" for it's wider release.

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