Welcome to the Dollhouse

Play trailer

Welcome to the Dollhouse

R

1995

1h 27m

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

51 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.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

03/10/2023

4/5

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

Go to Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

03/04/2023

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.

Go to Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

02/27/2018

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

Go to Full Review

Michelle Kisner

The Movie Sleuth

03/13/2023

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

Go to Full Review

Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

10/03/2021

70/100

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

Go to Full Review

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

07/18/2018

3.5/4

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

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

michael C.

@MichaelC2 Mar 18

Was really good. Loved it. Was very quirky.

See more

Jack F

@MovieFan111 Nov 28

Finally a film worth rating. It's well known to cinema nerds, so it's a hidden gem to everyone else. It's an interesting movie, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and that's good. You pair this movie with Ghost World for a double feature day.

See more

Scott R

@ScottR Nov 25

NYT 1000 list. It is a unique movie, but it didn’t quite resonate the same way it did for others. I mostly was not invested in the characters or the issues they faced. It did have some wit I appreciated. Saw on tubi.

See more

Leaburn O

@RT35452347 07/08/2025

An on point comedy about teenage angst. A cross between Napoleon Dynamite and The Brady Bunch. It is very well acted and portrayed. Made me laugh a lot with the 90s reminders. Watched on Amazon Prime.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 05/15/2025

1 hour and 27 minutes of humor.

See more

Tera K

@RT50822704 08/13/2023

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.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Todd Solondz

Director

Heather Matarazzo

Dawn Wiener

Daria Kalinina

Missy Wiener

Matthew Faber

Mark Wiener

Angela Pietropinto

Mrs. Wiener

Bill Buell

Mr. Wiener

The Comedian

24%

28%

The Comedian

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Comedian

Trees Lounge

81%

79%

Trees Lounge

Watchlist

Feeling Minnesota

16%

28%

Feeling Minnesota

Watchlist

The Last Supper

61%

70%

The Last Supper

Watchlist

Trixie

27%

23%

Trixie

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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