Matt linked to an interview with Todd Solondz, who made the films “Welcome to the Dollhouse” and “Happiness.” Nothing, I repeat, nothing is as funny as my sister doing the Weiner Dog dance. She’s gonna love this.
I’m actually not a real big fan of either film. “Dollhouse” just hit way, way too close for comfort. To make matters worse, I saw it with a friend who’s a junior high teacher and he guffawed through the whole thing. I just sat there and squirmed. And don’t even get me started on “Happiness.” It’s probably the only film in my life that I’ve ever seriously considered walking out on. I believe that Solondz is a unique artist and that he’s very good at what he does, but I can’t find the humor in such a bleak universe. Other optimists are warned to watch these films at their own peril.
2 responses
hmm…i think my previous comment got lost.
i’ve never managed to see “dollhouse” all the way through, but i do remember a bit of squirming of my own. as for “happiness,” i have two words for you:
blind date.
needless to say, that was our first, last, and only date…
Ohmygod! No way! That’s terrible. I saw it at the Snite Theater at ND. Some pretentious wankers from my film class laughed all the way through it, as if they were the only ones cool and alternative enough to get the black humor. I got it alright, but I sure as hell didn’t find it funny. In fact, I nearly wanted to cry every time the “nice” sister came onscreen. She just got shat on every time she turned around. Why should that be funny?