Welcome to the Dollhouse

1995 Directed by Todd Solondz

Not all girls want to play with dolls.

An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.

Heather Matarazzo Angela Pietropinto Victoria Davis Christina Brucato Christina Vidal Siri Howard Brendan Sexton III Daria Kalinina Matthew Faber Ken Leung Josiah Trager Bill Buell Eric Mabius Stacey Moseley Will Lyman Richard Gould

Alternative Title

인형의 집으로 오세요

drama comedy

88 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Cass Wall ★★★★½ 2

Brandon, I don't mean to be a cunt.
Review by Sally Jane Black 7

There are two things this film (and other works in this vein, i.e. Solondz' filmography) do best are capturing the feel of awkwardness and insert the bleak side of the American dream into the everyday. It does it here with some very bright colors.
There is very little in this that isn't offensive. Rape, pedophilia, abuse, and more are turned into unpleasant punchlines, but unlike many edgy comedies, this film has the decency to make sure you know none of this is okay. It still crosses the line. It's aware it's crossing the line. It's emphasizing the line as it runs it over. It employs hyperbole. It employs an awkward directness that seems inhuman, unreal, but rings true.
What makes…
Review by Hollie Horror ★★★★★ 8

Recently, a friend of mine and I were talking about Todd Solondz and how divisive his work is for most people. He's not a fan, so I asked if he liked John Waters' films and he said yes, and continued that Waters loves his characters whereas Solondz seemingly hates his own. I can definitely see his point, but I don't necessarily agree. I'm not sure if a man who hated the characters in his films would flesh them out to the point where they seem as though they're people we know. There is something so accessible about them, watching Welcome to the Dollhouse for the first time in many years was like being reunited with perfectly preserved people from my…
Review by 👽 Zara 👽 ★★★½ 3

when she was sawing the barbie doll's head off it reminded me of that time i made a voodoo doll of one of my teachers in year 4 out of one of my barbie dolls and broke the dolls leg and then a week later, my teacher actually broke the same leg as the doll's leg sooooooooo
Review by Hari Nef 3

delightful tbh
Review by evilbjork ★★★

Few movies correctly portray the sadness and loneliness of childhood, this one does and does it well.
Review by Justin Peterson ★★★½

A lot like 'Eighth Grade' but long before social media, and even more awkward at times ... but not as awkward as Todd Solondz's follow up film 'Happiness'.
A few Quick Hits of what you can expect from this strange little movie:
- Wow it would suck to have a name like Wiener, especially in the cruel world of Middle School
- Wow, not even the main character Dawn's parents like her
- "Yo, Weiner, you better get ready, 'cause at three o'clock today, I'm gonna RAPE you!"
- "I don't mean to be a cunt."
- "Do you know what "special people means? ... What? ... Special people equals retarded. Your club is for retards."
Welcome to the Dollhouse is the kind of dark comedy where you hold your breath hoping it will not go there, but are also strangely curious if it will at the same time.
Thanks for reading.
Happy movie watching ... Skål!
Review by ethan

somehow the most delightful yet disturbing thing i’ve ever watched
Review by Steve G 🐝 ★★★★½ 9

You Have 90 Minutes To Comply 2: Brevity Rules
A shotgun blast to the face to anyone who still suggests that school days are the best days of your life, Welcome to the Dollhouse is also probably the best film I've watched in this project so far.
My continual complaining about school-set films that focus on bullying generally centres around the fact that the events in these films don't ring true in terms of the way they come about or are settled. I've come to the conclusion that the majority of filmmakers who have made films containing school bullying were never bullied themselves and actually were probably the bullies, considering the shallow, almost playful treatment this subject normally gets.
Todd…
Review by Silent J ★★★★★ 4

An honest and touching coming of age story that reminds us all how it felt to be a cunt in high school.
Like Todd Solondz's next film Happiness, this is pretty brutal and fucked up at times, but it's also a pretty honest and even kinda sincere story that's hilarious throughout. Does it make me a fucked up bastard for laughing my way through the whole fucked up film? Probably.
Oh yeah, and I gotta give a BIG thanks to Claire Ramirez for giving me a link to this film when I couldn't find one. Thanks Claire Bear!
Review by Matthew Saponar ★★★★ 1

1. not a fucking chance dawn wiener grows up to be gretta gerwig
2. jonbenet ramsey "happened" a year after this came out
3. the delivery of brandon saying what he's gonna do "at three o'clock today!" is one of the funniest things i've heard in a while
Review by dylan gelula ★★★★★

I’ve always been like oh I need to see welcome to the dollhouse but I didn’t really know I needed to see welcome to the dollhouse

Recent reviews

Review by ⱠØⱠ₳ ★★★★½

it do be like that tho
edit: few filmmakers can actually capture the feeling of alienation as brilliantly as Todd Solondz can.
Review by Camille ★★★★★

Was this movie the birth of cringe?
Review by Alexandra ☃ ★★★★

finally some oldest daughter middle child representation
Review by jesse ★★★★½

this movie is painful to watch but it’s not a bad movie. in fact, it’s so good at making you feel the raw emotions of dawn and the purpose of every character
Review by Sean Darr ★★★★★

I can't think of anything wrong with this film, it's so dark and so funny, and the most realistic portrayal of middle school and being 12-13 years old I've ever seen, Brutal and Weird but amazing.
Review by Jiggahava ★★★★

When I first tried to watch this as a 7th grader I had to turn it off after 20 minutes because it hit too close to home. I *was* Weinerdog (minus all the horrible middle school slurs) . Gotta say watching it as an adult, it is much easier to appreciate the dark satire. Probably Solondz's most "gentle" film.
Review by 𝓐𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓪 ★★★★★

Watching this and May in the same day and all before noon got me accidentally curating a truly sicko film festival.
Outfits 👌
Review by Jesse ★★★★½

Liked this a decent amount more the second time. Whether it was the context of all other Solondz movies or something I can’t pin down, it’s still just a great dark comedy. Hard to call it coming of age because no progress is really made, but that is pretty much the whole point. Again hard to believe this wasn’t an influence on stuff like Little Miss Sunshine, but still stands on its own with the signature Solondz style. Not even coming close to feel-good and every time you think you like somebody they make you hate them and vice verse. But I really appreciate the honesty of that.
Technically his best behind Happiness and definitely a little more conventional than all his others, but all that makes sense since this was his sophomore film. Just a really great film and a pretty important one I think.
Review by Alex Bergstrom ★★★★

Guy who plays the school principal is the second most Ted Levine-looking guy in cinema and it’s not even close
Review by Liam ★★★★

Horrifying. I forgot how bad 7th grade is
Review by Otto Kirley ★★★★

Poor Ralphy :(
Review by briana

definitely i thought it was fun i liked the beat so yeah