Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)

Just one of the many outfits from the film that are overwhelming for the eye

So firstly a bit of background information on how I came across this film. I am addicted to my 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, my head is always in it at least once a week. I came across this film called Happiness in it which stars the brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman & Lara Flynn Boyle (Twin Peaks). I was so intrigued by it's story and watched the trailer to it numerous times and then began reading up on the director Todd Solondz. This is how I discovered Welcome to the Dollhouse, as Solondz is the director. I have been scouring the shelves of dvd stores for months in the hope of coming across either of these films. It was just last week that I would casually step into JB Hi-Fi with the intention of purchasing nothing (always a fail) and just come across a copy of Welcome to the Dollhouse, simple as that! After watching it though, I am feeling rather unsure about my discovery.

The film follows loner, Dawn Wiener, who is both an outcast at school and at home. Constantly being called Wienerdog at school and ridiculed for not being as sweet and cute as her younger sister at home, Dawn leads a fairly miserable life as a result. What I didn't like about this film is the shit Heather Matarazzo's character, Dawn, has to go through. The taunting at school is one thing but to get so much crap from the mother at home is just frustratingly annoying. The shit Dawn has to go through was just overwhelming and quite ridiculous really to the point that it wasn't quite believable.

This all aside though, I can see the film's appeal. It's quite quirky and funnily enough, original despite the overused storyline of the loner who gets taunted all the time. I just can't make up my mind though whether this is enough to make me like the film. When the film was finished I felt rather disappointed but over the past few days I've been thinking more about it and I think I liked it. I think I'm going to have to give it more time though or another viewing before I can fully make up my mind about it. So for that reason I am not going to give it a rating. However, I'll still be hunting for a copy Happiness.