Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)

Directed by Todd Solondz. Starring Heather Matarazzo, Matthew Faber, Brendan Sexton III, Eric Mabius, Angela Pietropinto, Daria Kalinina, Bill Buell, Rica Martens. [R]

The agonizingly awkward and embarrassing life and times of insecure (and unfortunately-named) seventh-grader Dawn Weiner (Matarazzo), picked on by virtually her entire middle school and fumbling through the pangs of puberty. Merciless but often quite funny, its satirical attacks are specific and cringe-inducing, yet they have the sort of recognizable truths that make them applicable to anyone who lived through that gawky part of growing, regardless of social status (except maybe those handful of bullies who never grew out of that phase). Writer/director Solondz’s screenplay yields complex characterizations, and even if the back end gets a little messy and improbable in its engineering, the filmmaker’s refusal to tack on a pat, happy ending is refreshing. A largely unknown supporting cast acquits itself well, and Matarazzo is ideal in her film debut. Solondz also produced.

85/100