THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 46 lines
DAWN WEINER, the so-called ``heroine'' of ``Welcome to the Dollhouse,'' is a bespectacled geek who struggles fitfully to get someone, anyone, to notice her - much less to love her. She exists in the hell that is known as the seventh grade, a period when childhood still exists but there are already urges to express a bit of independency.
Dawn is derided and hailed as ``a dog'' at school while at home she is blamed for everything.
``Welcome to the Dollhouse'' is a painfully hilarious movie that will have you laughing at the same time it makes you squirm in your seat. Director-writer Todd Solondz has fashioned a unique and telling portrait of a survivor.
Heather Matarazzo as Dawn, with her crooked teeth and beady eyes, is the embodiment of the girl-on-the-brink. Her parents are insensitive louts who are indifferent to her but adore her little sister, Missy. Missy collects Barbie dolls and dances around in a pink tutu. She is too precious to be believed. Older brother Mark is a computer nerd concerned only with getting into a good college.
Dawn is relegated to hanging out in the clubhouse she's built in the back yard ``for special people'' - special people who never show up.
In one of several desperate subplots, Dawn falls for the long-haired hunk who sings in the makeshift rock band in her garage, but he is totally inaccessible.
If this were a TV series, or even a conventional movie, Dawn would grow up to be a successful beauty. She'd probably have to do no more than take off her glasses. This, however, is not to be.
This is not so much a coming-of-age film as it is a film about survival. Puberty, as pictured here, is not something to conquer; it's something to be outlasted.
This movie is a little jewel - hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. MEMO: MOVIE REVIEW
``Welcome to the Dollhouse''
Cast: Eric Mabius, Brendan Sexton Jr., Heather Matarazzo
Director and Writer: Todd Solondz
MPAA rating: R (language)
Mal's rating: 4 stars
Location: Naro in Norfolk by CNB