A very accurate portrayal of junior high that pulls no punches.

Pretty funny at points, but it's hard to watch this without suspecting it started the whole Sundance she-bang. Get it, cos she wants to bang? Hahahahaha!!! Uh. Also, to dig myself deeper, this reminded me a lot of Goosebumps.

A good but not great debut by Todd Solondz, who I feel hit his stride with his later films.

A lot of the time it feels like a typical teenage alienation movie taken to its extreme, and doesn't really offer anything new. However, there are some absolutely brilliant darkly comic scenes, and it's an incredibly honest account of being that age. I empathised with the main character much more than I wanted to.

Not Todd Solodnz's best, but nonetheless an insightfull movie.

More interesting than it is good. Has more honesty to what it's like to be a kid than most people would like to admit.

Nothing groundbreaking, but pretty solid. Matarazzo's performance felt a little bit forced here and there, but over all I liked the character she played. While not as off the wall as most of Solondz's later films, this one definitely hints at the weirdness to come.

Welcome to the dollhouse: 7 // 9 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 5 // 8

It's not a piece of shit, but Solondz should take Larry Clark by the hand, and go to hell with their stupid irrelevant realism.

I hated every minute of this dreary, unrelenting horror show. Everyone's terrible, nobody is remotely redeeming, and I guess that's the point, but Jesus, Todd, I already had one miserable childhood, I don't need to have another so perfectly described to me.

A bit of sensitivity and you'll see a great society critic and how reality can be, and not so rare.