20 Awesome 90s Movies That Deserve More Love
16. Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
From the dark and satirical mind of the great Todd Solondz, Welcome to the Dollhouse finds the filmmaker delivering the goods in a film that features plenty of comedy bite, but is also a strikingly tender coming-of-age drama.
The story of Dawn (Heather Matarazzo), a teenager who tries to make a name for herself amongst a host of high school bullies, flawed love interests, and terrible parents, Solondz's heightened dramedy constantly pushes on a wide range of hot-button topics, all the while making Dawn's journey feel honest and compelling.
Like all of Todd Solondz's projects, Welcome to the Dollhouse is a difficult, biting social satire, as uncomfortable as it is frequently hilarious and, by film's end, quite wise.
Within a sea of safe and indifferent coming-of-age comedy-dramas made for the streaming era, it sure is nice to see the genre wasn't always willing to risk it all for a bit of fun, and to say something genuinely meaningful in the process.