Reviews (127)

One of the Best Movies of the 1990s.
Let me get this out of the way: in grade school, I was teased. A lot. In fact, it was so bad that even walking to school was an emotionally and physically painful experience. I can relate to every second of misery Dawn endures in the dynamite "Welcome to the Dollhouse." Most films like "Sixteen Candles" view high school as some insulated paradise. Not this film. Here, Dawn (played by Heather Matarazzo) is as socially inept as a pre-teen girl can be. She is subject to taunts, verbal assault, and vicious mind games at the hands of her classmates. Home life isn't much better; her parents blissfully ignore her while they shower attention on her cutsey younger sister, Missy. They give her attention only when they catch her doing something wrong, which seems to be most of the time. On top of this, she develops a crush for the teenage lead singer of her brother's band. Anyone who has experienced unrequieted love will find this subplot heartbreaking to watch. Despite the above, "Welcome to the Dollhouse" is a murderously funny movie to watch, even if you were a victim of grade school teasing. The performances are dead-on and it's one of my favorite movies of the 1990's.

A painfully honest film you will never forget
Bold, unabashedly honest, psychologically riveting, and painfully mesmerizing are just a few of the words and expressions that come to mind when I think about this uniquely extraordinary film. First shown at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, Welcome to the Dollhouse walked away with the grand jury prize, and it is easy to see why. Writer/director/producer Todd Solondz brought a unique vision of the sharpest kind to this film, cutting right through the fluff of the typical "geek makes good" nonsense and forcing his artistic scalpel forcefully down into the nethermost regions of the adolescent heart. The story is so unsettling and painfully uncomfortable that some parents hesitated or refused to let their children participate in the filming. It's just an amazing, unforgettable movie.

Eleven-year-old Heather Matarrazzo gives one of the most remarkable performances I've ever seen from an actress of such tender age. Her eyes and bodily expressions encapsulate and transmit the hurt and misery writhing inside her every moment, leaving the viewer helpless to do anything but watch with increasingly unrestrained unease. Born with the unfortunate name of Dawn Weiner, the poor girl is ridiculed, ignored, teased, insulted, and basically mentally terrorized every day at school. Chants of "Weiner Dog" follow her throughout the hallways, her locker is marked with awful graffiti, and even her teachers and administrators are less than kind to her. Then, after school, she has to come home to parents who dote on her smart older brother and "little miss perfect" younger sister. Dawn has only one friend, a younger neighbor boy who seems to be following in her ignominiously alienated footsteps. Dawn does not escape all of this mentally unscathed, taking her own anger out on her sister in particular and doing several things that good girls should not do. In the most surreal of story elements, Dawn longs to be rescued from her situation by a boy, but hers is not a Cinderella type of fantasy. Her infatuation with a rebellious high school boy is somewhat understandable, but her relationship with a certain school bully is nothing short of surreal. I only wish I could discuss the psychology of this aspect of the movie in this context.

The one thing that really struck me about this movie is the fact that we never see Dawn cry; she internalizes all of her torments, and this does not have a pretty effect on her. I may be inventing a phrase here, but the director's vision seems to me to have been one of unsympathetic compassion. Far from holding Dawn up as the paragon of innocent, unrecognized virtue whose Prince Charming will come some day, he gives us a girl who becomes cruel in her own right to those few people around her, turning her hatred of others into a deep hatred of herself, several times teetering on the peak of mental unbalance. Solondz does not stray anywhere near the realm of fairy tale, as this ugly duckling does have an ugly side to her. The brutal honesty and lack of a visibly sympathetic portrayal of the character makes her worst moments even more unbearable to the viewer, and this is where the compassion kicks in. Solondz seemingly makes no effort to redeem this character in our eyes, yet the fact that he shows us, in such a harsh and brutal way, the miseries of this poor child's life makes her a character you desperately want to see find a degree of happiness.

The only thing I don't really understand about Welcome to the Dollhouse is the dark comedy label it seems to have acquired. I found nothing funny whatsoever about anything I saw here. Maybe that's the sensitivity of the former nerd in me, but honestly this movie is just utterly dark and depressing. Those looking for laughs will probably not embrace Welcome to the Dollhouse, but those who want to see the harsh light of truth shone into the bottom of an individual's soul and learn something from the painful experience will walk away from this film a different person than they were an hour and a half earlier. This movie has the power to touch you in ways you may never have imagined.

Everybody Runs Away....
Todd Solondz' WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE was one of those films that was "on my list" for many years. I had seen his second film HAPPINESS and was intrigued by Solondz dark dark humor. Why it took me so long to take in another of his films is hard to explain. Every review I had read of DOLLHOUSE praised it (and even some reviewers who literally hated HAPPINESS were oddly touched by this debut film). Perhaps it took me a year or so to summon up enough strength to take another Solondz flick. Now that I think about it, such hesitancy only seems natural. As it turns out, however, biting as it is, DOLLHOUSE is still a heck of a lot easier to watch than its follow-up.

Perhaps it's because as some reviewers here suggest, we all have our own "inner Dawn Wiener." It's easy to identify with this ungainly, hopelessly unpopular teenager--with the awful barrettes and clothes, a brainy older brother, and pertly adorable younger sister. We can all cop to that one pretty much. (If you identify at all with the characters in HAPPINESS, you probably wouldn't want to admit it.) But I honestly don't think that Solondz' intent was to get viewers in touch with their "inner adolescent." He's going after something bigger than that--and more sinister too.

I guess it shouldn't be so surprising that many reviewers here identify with Dawn, but when they start calling the film "realistic," you have to wonder. If there was ever a film that was an exercise in pop SURrealism, this is it.
As a teen alienation flick, I'd rate it right up there with GHOST WORLD, and like that film, it has a distorted, fun-house-mirror quality--that is, I'll grant you, simultaneously more and less real that mere realism. (I guess that's the essence of SURREALISM). Dawn's parents, for example, are little more than cartoon figures--at least until her father has a near nervous breakdown.

And doesn't that reflect a teenage sense of reality even better than sheer realism, after all? Your average teen doesn't see his or her parents as full-fledged human beings. They're way too busy with their own boiling over emotions. Until their parents humanity hits them in the face, kids see them through the looking glass, darkly--if at all.

Which is not to say that either of Dawn's parents becomes remotely sympathetic. Interesting too how in the end, Dawn's two almost-boyfriends have run away to the city. Dawn kinda sorta runs away herself trying to track downr her kidnapped little sister. Seems like anyone with a lick of sense gets out of that town.

realistic account
welcome to the dollhouse is a touching and realistic account of what its like to be on the outskirts of growing up. dawn is a young gyrl trying to fight her way in. she deals with bullies, her parents rejection, and her own self hate. the film has its funny moments such as dawn standing over her sleeping sister's bed with a hammer in her hands. the character of dawn is well played but barely develops. brendon sexton jr plays brandon, a bully in his own right but has feelings for dawn. his role is small but quite significant. dawn's family is very unlikeable strictly because of their arrogance and complete disregard of dawn.
overall the film is good. you will find yourself not only sympathizing with dawn but may find her angst and vulnerbility alittle like your own in the often harsh world of growing up. the ending could be better; it leaves you wondering about alot of things. but despite the ending the film is heartfelt and very satisfying.

Painfully realistic
I felt like switching this movie off a lot of the time. Having been where Dawn was throughout high school, I didn't think it was possible for me to watch right to the end. I was told that this movie was the story of my life. Not quite. But I did identify with some parts - Dawn being called a loner, her looks, being called ugly. But what really upset me, was the director heavily focusing on looks in the movie. I don't know why I still get upset over that kind of thing in movies. And the fact that Dawn does exactly what everyone does to her - she turns round, and says hurts them. But that's cos she's been bullied herself, so effectively, she turns into the bully.

But of course, we've all been there, haven't we? Don't say you haven't, go and dig out your old photo album. Look at the dorky hair, clothes, teeth in bad need of a brace - I could go on. And we've all had that embarrassing, awkward first kiss - I've NEVER put a spell on a guy just to make him like me! (It wouldn't work, believe me)

Heather Matarazzo, although quite pretty now, is probably always going to be cast in "character" roles, than anything else. What I really hated was where were all the kids with bad skin?! Even Dawn had porcelain skin. It's not fair, nor is it true.

Dawn was made to look all the worse, by constantly having her hair scraped back, made to wear god-awful clothes, and those terrible clothes (although I found an old pair of glasses when cleaning out my drawers - did I wear those?!)

This is a good film to watch, although I can't see myself touching a guy with a bargepole who bullied me, or called me names. That bit just didn't ring true. It's not a film I would watch again, it upset me that bit too much. But it's worth having a look at if you can get your hands on a copy. ... Read more

Reviews (223)

Super Freaky
The original Freaky Friday, released in 1977, starred Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, as a mother/daughter, who pull off the old switchero. The sprited 2003 remake is as much fun as the earlier incarnation and is a great showcase for the comedic talents of its two female leads.

Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her 15-year-old daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) are not getting along all that well. The pair butt heads over everthing from boys, household chores, to mom's upcoming nuptials to Ryan (Mark Harmon). However, everything changes when two identical Chinese fortune cookies cause a little mystic mayhem and Tess and Anna find themselves inside the other's body. And with Tess's wedding only a few days away, the two have to find a way to switch back before the big day.

Under the direction of Mark S. Waters, Freaky Friday, has what many of the identity crisis comedies of the past did not--good chemistry between the leads. Curtis and Lohan make quite a team. I was very impressed with the way they were both able to transform into each other. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a clever and witty script, to back you up. After seeing Curtis strut her stuff, her Golden Globe nomination for her performance, was well deserved.

The DVD has a solid assortment of extras, but I really wish the stars had recorded an audio commentary, that probably would have been lots of fun. Waters offers an introduction for a deleted scene and no less than three alternate endings. I'll let you decide for yourself, which ending works best. Actress Lindsay Lohan grabbed a DV Camera for some fun backstage moments with the cast and crew during the making of the film. There's also a three minute blooper reel that's worth a look, two music videos from the film's soundtrack: Lillix's "What I Like About You" and Halo Friendlies' "Me Vs. the World", a few DVD-ROM weblinks, and the usual Disney sneak peeks. The actual theatrical trailers for either Freaky Friday film, however, didn't make the disc. Viewers can watch the movie in either the full-screen or widescreen formats

This is a lighthearted family comedy that made even this somewhat cynical reviewer smile. Recommended

SWITCHEROONIE
FREAKY FRIDAY is a movie of revelations. First, we have the breakout performance for an actress who has always done well, but in this movie, well she finds her niche. Jamie Lee Curtis is absolutely delightful in the role of Tess Coleman. She brings a comic ability hardly evidenced in her earlier films; she also has the maturity to cut loose and play her teenage daughter with all the stops pulled out. If this was a perfect world, Jamie Lee would find herself with a Best Actress oscar nomination this year. Likewise, Ms. Lindsay Lohan---incredible performance, going from the self-centered teenybopper to the more sophisticated and mature personage of her stressed out mom.
Lohan and Curtis work brilliantly together, and in this same perfect world, Lindsay would also be Oscar nominated.
Director Mark Waters kept things moving at a frenetic pace, and had me chuckling throughout the movie. We can't overlook, either, the wonderful actors in their supporting roles: Mark Harmon was his usual stuffy self, but there was innate warmth lurking there, too; Harold Gould was charming as the hard of hearing grandfather; Ryan Malgarini was perfect as the brother from hell; Dina Spybey was perfect as the too perfect classmate, Stacey; and my favorites: Rosalind Chao and Lucille Soong as the Chinese ladies who get the ball rolling with the switching. They are so full of life, they give the movie incredible bursts of fun and humor. Ironically, Chad Michael Murray worked best in his scenes with Jamie Lee; he seemed to have more maturity and self-confidence.
This is a very entertaining movie, and in its own way, much better than the original.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND OSCAR DON'T BE SUCH A STUFFSHIRT!

Awesome movie!
Great family movie! Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan once again prove what great actresses they are! The movie is very funny and the chemistry between the actors is amazing!

A Fillm for the whole family
I was very happy when I got Freaky Friday for christmas and I enjoy every moment of it. It has a little of everything for the whole family. Rock, love and comdey it just a feel good movie for any age.

Average Flick
I have to say I liked the book better. The movie is kind of shallow. I like Lindsay Lohan a lot, but for some reason this movie didn't serve a purpose for me.
They twisted the story of the book, which was much better might I add, to make 'Anna' a rebel punk rocker with a bad attitude and a belly button ring. I think I may have appreciated this movie more if it had some more meaning.
Some parts of the movie were really good and some parts were kind of stinky. No offense, but after Chad Michael Murray's character entered the movie, that's when the movie got boring. That's the word. Boring. Not bad, just kind of boring.
Don't get me wrong though, it's a lot better than that Lizzie Maguire movie and What A Girl Wants, and I guess maybe littler kids might like it more than I did. But here's the breakdown.....
THE MOVIE: Definitely worth watching, Definitely worth checking out of the library, Worth renting, Maybe not worth buying until you've seen it.
AGES?: 4-6, probably wouldn't get it. 7-9 May like it. 10-13 - my age group....It was okay...kind of predictable. 13+ - most likely will find it boring.
MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS: Mean Girls (PG-13) for younger kids, The Parent Trap and Cheaper By The Dozen.
OTHER: I recommend Freaky Friday, the book, wholeheartedly. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Great , but don't make Mikey drink Chunky Milk next time!
This movie is great including Mikey (Michael J. Fox), and Angie (Christina Vidal), a great on-screen team, including the big singoff with that girl, and the part where Barry (David Krumholtz), threw up in Mikey's brother's (Nathan Lane's) hat, and where that girl kept singing "Happy Birthday to You." But, why did they make Mikey eat Fruit Loops with Chunky Milk. It's nasty! Next Time, you should rate it PG for Language, Crude Humor, Gross Images, Thematic Elements, and a Scene of Sensuality, because Mikey was having love with someone, while Angie moved in. I still give it a **** (4 out of 5).

A Funny, Good, Movie
This was a funny movie. At sometimes it was a little confusing but good! I think kids who like to laugh or act would really like this movie. It has kids who are horrible actors, that make you laugh loudly. This is a Great Movie!

When cute can't cut it
This movie is a cute story about a former child star who now works as an agent for other child stars.. unfortunately the business isn't doing well.. until they find a smart mouthed, 12 year old pick pocket who is "spunky" enough to get a gig. Fox was adorable as usual, a lot of the "child star" co-stars went on to be in some other movies except for Christina Vidal who has now gone on to have her own show on Nickelodeon. All I can say is the cast was fun, the writing wasn't bad but the movie could have used something. Just for fun, I will aslo mention that I was in a play with Christina Vidal later that year after the fimling of the movie...as for her acting? Well, I had the lead. I have to give credit where credit is due, she does have a lovely singing voice!

A sweet-natured comedy
This is a likeable (if somewhat naive) comedy with perfectly cast stars in familiar situations. This is by no means a movie for someone looking for strong depth and unpredictability, but it is quite funny and sometimes touching.

This Movie is Unfair to Michael J. Fox
I had been putting off watching this movie for a long time. I'm a fan of Cyndi Lauper, the actress (also Lauper, the singer, but that's not relevant here) and her resume is a little slight. With the exception of the amazing "Vibes", the odd "Off and Running" and this, the mind-numbing "Life with Mikey", there is nothing else to see. Well, okay, she has an uncredited role as "Picnic Guest" in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle", but that hardly counts.

So, in order to round out my collection, I bought "Life with Mikey". So far, so good. But then I sat down to watch it. Sweet mother!

Disney never seems to tire of showing us a) adults who have grown up to be big kids or b) unhappy, serious adults who would be better off if only they would loosen up and act like big kids. Now, I'm actually in favor of this philiosophy, but for some reason it never seems to come across on film. In this effort, the very funny Michael J. Fox plays Mike Chapman, a former child TV star who grows up to be a Big Kid. His apartment is a mess, he plays street hockey with the local urchins, he cons women and lies with a twinkle in his eye and we're all supposed to think he's charming as hell. Problem is, it seems that Fox has been replaced here by his stand-in, a life-size Michael J. Fox robot that has all the facial expressions down, but has none of the talent or charm.

Mikey works with his brother Ed (the underappreciated nathan Lane, reduced here to whining and mugging as though his life depended upon it) as a strictly low-rent talent agent for children. The agency represents a stable of losers and is about to go under until Mikey discovers Angie Vega, a con artist with "talent" who can save the agency, if only she'll agree to stop shoplifting in her off-hours.

Cyndi Lauper plays Geena Briganti, the brothers' secretary and the only character with any damned sense in the whole film.

This movie is genuinely touching. I teared up a little when I saw all these genuinely talented child actors hamming it up and pretending to be talentless in order to make the genuinely talentless Christina Vidal look good. These selfless kids try again and again to undershine every time they share a camera with the little tyke, but it never works. You're left wondering why the little urchin got the plum cookie role and not the little guy who does Ethel Merman impressions. Now that's hilarious! Or how about the dour kid who auditions with a Strindberg monologue? The screenwriters obviously had more fun writing these kids than they did the heroes.

In the end, "Life with Mikey" is a sad, disposable film that deserves no place in the careers of any of the actors involved. Except maybe Christina Vidal. ... Read more