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Welcome to the Dollhouse

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Welcome to the Dollhouse

R

Released Jan 15, 1995

1h 27m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

52 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Middle-school student Dawn Weiner (Heather Matarazzo) faces degradation at school -- where she is teased constantly -- and at home. The middle child between nerdy older brother Mark (Matthew Faber) and perky younger sister Missy (Daria Kalinina), Dawn can't seem to find a place to belong. Although she has a crush on a cute boy (Eric Mabius) whom her brother knows, she can only catch the attention of bully Brandon (Brendan Sexton Jr.), who threatens her to show affection.

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Critics Consensus

An outstanding sophomore feature, Welcome to the Dollhouse sees writer-director Todd Solondz mining suburban teen angst for black, biting comedy.

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

... There are deep and uneasy truths about emergent sexuality and the Darwinian atavism of the playground.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 10, 2023

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Nobody comes out of this looking pretty, and dignity – a key word in the film – is always far removed from these characters’ Darwinian struggles to survive their day without being rejected, mistreated or much, much worse.

Mar 4, 2023

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David Ansen

Newsweek

The beauty of Welcome to the Dollhouse is its pokerfaced objectivity, which neither condescends to its pubescent victim nor romantically inflates her plight.

Feb 27, 2018

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Michelle Kisner

The Movie Sleuth

Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse is one of the genre's most provocative, impactful, and poignant entries.

Mar 13, 2023

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Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

Episode 36: Love in the Time of Monsters / Barbarella / Welcome to the Dollhouse / Johnny Guitar

Rated: 70/100

Oct 3, 2021

Full Review

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

...a vision of middle-school awkwardness so cringe-worthy you'll be tempted to look away.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 18, 2018

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Stephen C

Unfunny and uncalled for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/25

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Stella J

I did not think this movie was very good, if there is a deeper meaning then I guess I don't understand it. I feel that nothing tied together and this movie and it was random and confusing. I had seen clips of it on other social media platforms and thought it could be a good movie, but it wasn't. I would never recommend anyone to watch this movie and I feel that I wasted an hour and a half of my life for nothing.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/01/24

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Rick M

I love this movie. It takes me back to my own experiences in 7th grade. I remember being warned about all kinds of things entering 7th grade, like getting your head shoved in the toilet, or getting a stiffy in gym class. Even more harrowing for me was travelling to Guam midway through 7th grade to a school who's marquee read "Students may not park their cars on campus." They were serious. I had just turned 12 in November of 1967. There were two kids who were 13 years old. The rest ranged in age from 14-19. The year before, there was a kid who was 21 in the 7th grade because his parents wouldn't let him quit school until he was an adult. My sister had a 19 year old kid in her 5th grade class. My younger brother didn't have any 19 year old classmates, but there were two 16 year old girls and one of them was pregnant. Remember that junior high had a mix of people across the spectrum. People headed to a lifetime in prison have not been seperated from society yet and you might have to sit next to them in class. Nothing is ever ss frightening as transitioning from elementary school to junior high or middle school. This movie hilariously captures every frightening moment.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/03/24

Full Review

Tera K

I decided to check out this film because I find Todd Solondz to be an interesting director and enjoyed it! It's definitely weird at times and not something I'd recommend to everyone, some of the scenes and dialogue involving Brandon felt unnecessary at times. But the film was overall good and the cast did well, it was witty and the whole bit about Dawn's little sister was really great.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/14/23

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Steve D

Far too odd for me to enjoy.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Aldo G

Kids can be cruel. So can movie directors. That's my reaction to director Todd Solondz's work on his second feature film. His portrayal of a 7th grader who is almost driven to murder because of how alienated she feels is cruel. That doesn't make it a bad movie. It just makes Welcome To The Dollhouse unwelcomingly depressing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/22/22

Full Review

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Todd Solondz

Director

Heather Matarazzo

Dawn Wiener

Daria Kalinina

Missy Wiener

Matthew Faber

Mark Wiener

Angela Pietropinto

Mrs. Wiener

Bill Buell

Mr. Wiener

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Synopsis

Middle-school student Dawn Weiner (Heather Matarazzo) faces degradation at school -- where she is teased constantly -- and at home. The middle child between nerdy older brother Mark (Matthew Faber) and perky younger sister Missy (Daria Kalinina), Dawn can't seem to find a place to belong. Although she has a crush on a cute boy (Eric Mabius) whom her brother knows, she can only catch the attention of bully Brandon (Brendan Sexton Jr.), who threatens her to show affection.

Director: Todd Solondz
Producer: Todd Solondz
Screenwriter: Todd Solondz
Production Co: Sony Pictures Classics, Columbia TriStar
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 15, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.8M
Runtime: 1h 27m
Sound Mix: Surround

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