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Heather Matarazzo, Daria Kalinina, Matthew Faber, Angela Pietropinto, Bill Buell ... see more see more... , Brendan Sexton III , Will Lyman , Christina Vidal , Stacey Moseley , Rica Martens , Victoria Davis , Eric Mabius

Twelve-year-old Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo) is perhaps the most put-upon adolescent in film history in Todd Solondz's bitterly hilarious black comedy Welcome to the Dollhouse. Dawn is bright but a... read more read more...wkward, both physically and socially, and is appallingly unpopular among her peers, to whom she's better known as "Wienerdog." Possessing little charm or grace and perhaps the most misguided fashion sense of her generation, Dawn is not an easy girl to like and practically no one seems interested in making the effort. If life is tough for Dawn at school, it's hardly any better at home. While her folks dote on her gratingly cute younger sister Missy (Daria Kalinina) and look with pride to her bookish older brother Mark (Matthew Faber), Dawn is either ignored or treated as an annoyance. Dawn has developed a crush on Steve (Eric Mabius), the hunky guitarist Mark has drafted into his rock band (significantly, Mark is less interested in making cool noise or unloading teenage angst than in having another extracurricular activity to put on his college applications); Steve is polite but obviously not interested in her. However, Dawn has attracted the attention of a boy at school -- Brandon (Brendan Sexton), a mean-spirited junior thug whose idea of a good time is threatening Dawn with rape. A painfully accurate account of life in junior high (what Matt Groening called "the lowest pit of hell"), Welcome to the Dollhouse is also very funny, but writer and director Todd Solondz never lets the film's humor dilute the agony of its leading character; anyone who has ever been 12 years old will doubtless laugh at Dawn while uncomfortably recalling the horror of their own preteen years. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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83% liked it

31,823 ratings

Critics

90% liked it

48 critics

R, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Todd Solondz

Release Date: September 10, 1995

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DVD Release Date: August 3, 1999

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Stats: 1,918 reviews

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Poster French Poster Dawn Dawn Wiener took a bath Dawn Wiener killing Jem Poster Poster Brandon and Dawn Dawn and Brandon Dawn and Steve Lolita Dawn Wiener THE END Welcome to the Dollhouse Welcome to the Dollhouse Welcome to the Dollhouse
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Flixster Reviews (1,918)

  • jennifxu
    July 30, 2011
    jennifxu
    Okay, now after watching this and Let the Right One In I look upon middle school life completely differently. I can't watch another kid's movie without thinking some terrible bullying involving knives or something is going to come soon. I have become desensitized to juvenile viol... read moreence, I think.

    Heather Matarazzo is so impressive I don't even know what to say! I don't look upon her as a little kid but as a human with terrible conflicts going inside her. Solondz has really three-dimensionalized Dawn so that everybody can identify with her and pity her and also hate her at the same time. Everyone has a little bit of Dawn in themselves but she's so extreme you have to laugh. But you understand her too.

    Made me understand what black comedy truly is. Just when you think the screenplay can't get more original Solondz throws another curveball at you. The scene that sticks out most is the cake one. WHOA what a bitch mother.
  • fb100000257973100
    December 12, 2010
    fb100000257973100
    Welcome To The Dollhouse has to be one of the most important films in history solely due to the fact that it shows what an unpopular, rather ugly school age girl goes threw. Complete with torment, dark sarcasm in the class room, and parents that do not really care. Now, what make... read mores this film unique is that it is the ultimate dark comedy and you can not but help to laugh at Dawn threw her misadventures. Recommend for anyone that enjoys dark comedy and wants to see a good independent film.
  • flixsterman
    September 13, 2009
    flixsterman
    Dawn (Heather Matarazzo) is a misfit middle-child stuck in jr. high hell. Bullied by her classmates, her teachers and her dysfunctional family she plods through her suburban existence, enduring an endless stream of humiliating and degrading events.

    To start with, expect a dr... read moreama with a few comedic elements and you won't be disappointed. Pop this one into the DVD player thinking it's going to be a 'feel-good comedy' and Welcome to the Dollhouse will suck you down a dark hole. Even though it's about 7th grade adolescent trauma, this is a film better suited for parents and young adults. A terrific picture with some disturbing moments.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    October 2, 2008
    DragonEyeMorrison
    What "Juno" wanted to be.
  • kenstachnik
    July 3, 2008
    kenstachnik
    Uncomfortably funny
  • puffchunk
    April 11, 2008
    puffchunk
    Frighteningly close to what middle school was like.
  • RCCLBC
    March 17, 2008
    RCCLBC
    I Heart Dawn Wiener!
  • CloudStrife84
    January 2, 2008
    CloudStrife84
    A hauntingly true and authentic look at outsiderness and how bullying can affect a person in a day to day environment. This movie was a lot better than I expected and Heather Matarazzo gave a very touching and heartfelt performance. If I got my wish through, it's a movie that sho... read moreuld be shown in every classroom in every country of the world.
  • mjgildea
    November 21, 2006
    mjgildea
    So cracked out and surreal you can't help but love it.
  • dreamfaeries
    November 3, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    Fabulous movie...

View All Welcome to the Dollhouse Reviews

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy
December 20, 2006
Emanuel Levy, Variety

One of the highlights of the 1995 Toronto Festival, Solondz's second film is a stark, often funny, always poignant comedy about suburban mores, centering on a misfit Jewish girl tormented by her famil... Full Review

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

At 87 minutes, Dollhouse is a near-perfect morsel. If nothing else, it informs older folk that school principals still threaten to record bad behavior in one's 'personal record' -- only now, computers...

Hollis Griffin
January 1, 2011
Hollis Griffin, Common Sense Media

A dark look at adolescence; not for kids. Full Review

Rob Nelson
September 1, 2009
Rob Nelson, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

Welcome to the Dollhouse puts an ugly duckling through her paces. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
April 9, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

quirky and great

Rob Gonsalves
July 23, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

At its best it's like the funniest yet bleakest comic book Dan Clowes never drew. Full Review

Cole Smithey
December 12, 2005
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

Todd Solondz's only good movie.

Rich Cline
April 6, 2005
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

hilariously provocative and almost too real

Edward Douglas
March 14, 2005
Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net

Still Solondz's one and only great film!

Pablo Villaca
January 27, 2004
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Matarazzo tem forte presença em cena, mas o filme não sai do lugar-comum.

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Welcome to the Dollhouse Trivia

  • Todd Solondz, Dawn "Wienerdog" Wiener & Brendan Sexton, Jr.?  Answer »
  • What was Dawn's (Heather Matarazzo) last name in the movie, "Welcome to the Dollhouse"?  Answer »
  • Name the actress who appeared in the following movies: Welcome to the Dollhouse, Sorority Boys, Saved!, and The Princess Diaries.  Answer »
  • Which of the following films does NOT feature a ventriloquist's dummy?  Answer »
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