Matarazzo plays this prepubescent teen (excellently) who's the target of every possible social ordeal a teen-child could possibly be subjected to. The tone of the film is between pure caricature and strong realism, the events occurring are both totally exaggerated and genuinely ring true.So the movie is full of stuff happening, the weirdest (but still somehow realistic) stuff, does it while committing to good pace, and communicates its essence scene after scene with efficiency. The director makes it a point to establish clearly the goal and meaning of each section of the whole.Overall the cast is pretty spot-on, Matarazzo herself as Dawn, that young punk Brandon (who threatens her), her little sister and her annoying 'bitchy' face, the beautiful Steve of course... they had something very cohesive and efficient going on in this film generally.Strong 90's comedy: entertaining throughout, good actors with the right profiles, short and sweet, funny and with a number of social messages. 8/10.

"Welcome to the Dollhouse" is a feel-bad movie with little to make most viewers smile. It's depressing, awful and painful to watch. It's also incredibly insightful and incredibly well made.Heather Matarazzo stars as Dawn, a miserable kid who just began middle school. She's not particularly pretty, nor talented nor self- assured. The other kids are incredibly nasty and take full advantage of her insecurities, her teacher could use euthanizing and her mother is a complete jerk...and as a result Dawn is depressed and lost. The film follows her during part of the school year and by the end, her life still seems to suck...just as much as when the film began. So why do I give this miserable film an 8? Well, writer/director Todd Solondz really understands kids this age...and most Hollywood films completely get kids this age wrong! They usually make them too smart, too self-aware and too happy...which is great if you are a movie star but not reality. Here, however, Solondz explores what life can be like for kids who feel like outsiders...which is incredibly tough at that age. The only negative is that there really is no ending to this story...Dawn is still miserable, her mother still is a terrible parent and things look like it's just going to be more of the same. But wow...what an incredibly well made little film!

Dawn is bullied in her middle school. She is insecure, wears unflattering clothes and doesn't feel attractive. Her inattentive parents care far more about her smart and nerdy older brother and her spoilt, elegant little sister(that she actually has to share a room with, in spite of being 11) than her, leaving her the overlooked middle child. She falls in love with a guy five years her senior. But could that possibly work out? This is one of the most brutally honest(it admits that teenagers actually think about sex), painful(the cake scene is torture), and difficult to watch films I've ever seen. I knew that it would be, because this is not my first exposure to the immensely talented Solondz... I own a copy of the quite good Storytelling, and I had heard that this was much harder on the viewer. This really doesn't let up(there are those that will use the word "nihilistic"), it's pure bared nerve endings, and it shows with no pretense the kind of cruelty some of us experience, and what effect it has on us. Everyone lashes out at someone weaker than them when they're in agony. While some of the actions do encourage headscratching, the characters in this are entirely realistic(I would say almost everything in this is), credible and well-developed. No one is a hero or a villain(don't expect to like everything about any of them). The acting is amazing. Matarazzo(who I can barely believe was willing to play the role) is impossibly perfect. Her body language, voice, eyes, everything is spot-on. Everyone is convincing in this. The tension is present and thick right from the beginning. I suppose one could argue that this doesn't have all that much genuine plot... we get a string of scenes in chronological order, and several things aren't followed up on. A ton does happen; I think this is mainly meant to show a small portion of the girl's life. Don't expect a lot of growth or change, or for this to have a conclusion(it kind of just stops... one can interpret the last image to mean something, though, and it certainly isn't randomly chosen). I'm not sure I understand classifying this as a comedy... if so, definitely note that it's black and sardonic humor. You can really *feel* the setting. The lunch-room, class-room and the suburban home... you're *there*, and you feel as suffocated and trapped as our lead does. This is filmed and edited impeccably well. There is disturbing content and strong language throughout this. The DVD comes with a trailer. I recommend this to anyone who wants an uncompromising look at what for many are the worst years of their life. 8/10

Heather Matarazzo stars as Dawn Weiner in Todd Solondz'ode to junior high school, otherwise known as middle school. She's a student at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School where she is mercilessly harassed by other students, male and female alike. She is also scapegoated by clueless parents and self-absorbed siblings. She longs for excitement in the fantasy arms of a high school guy, far too old for someone of her ilk. Dawn agrees to be raped by another guy at her school, and somehow there's still hope? This too is a misdirected abusive situation, which naive kids like Dawn do not understand. Seriocomic results are harvested throughout the film from similar situations. The only thing is, the film seems like a one note tapestry illustrating the slings and arrows of junior high and nothing more. The relentlessness of Dawn's mistreatment is clear; at the end, Dawn runs off to New York to find her kidnapped sister. She discovers her sister is found via a phone call, but then her mother is too busy with the media to talk to her at that moment. As it is, it's a bitterly funny look at the tween years of a put upon girl struggling to find direction for herself when the adults in her life fail to provide any. If you're looking for a redeeming moment in the film, then this might be it: Her realization that adults would never provide any meaningful direction in her life. *** of 4 stars.