Welcome to the Dollhouse

Welcome to the Dollhouse follows Dawn Wiener, an awkward seventh grader in a New Jersey suburb who is largely ignored at home, mocked at school and overshadowed by her prettier younger sister. Between indifferent parents, hostile classmates and a first crush on an older boy, Dawn endures a stretch of adolescence that seems to offer her little kindness. Her situation shifts through an uneasy acquaintance with Brandon, a troubled local boy who bullies her but eventually becomes something closer to a friend.

Todd Solondz wrote, directed and produced the film, which was released in 1996 and runs 88 minutes. It was the first of his features, arriving two years before Happiness, and it introduced Heather Matarazzo as Dawn, alongside Brendan Sexton III, Eric Mabius, Matthew Faber, Daria Kalinina and Angela Pietropinto. Produced by Suburban Pictures with a cast of thirty credited performers, it is a modest American independent comedy-drama.

Its worldwide box office take of about 5 million dollars was substantial relative to that scale. On IMDb it holds a critics' rating of 7.8/10 from 54 reviews, while on TMDB it stands at 7.1/10 from 521 votes. The gap suggests a film that reviewers rated somewhat more highly than the wider audience did, though the audience score remains positive.