NP: From the Lynch to the Solondz

[Steven Koteff]

Quality isn't great, but Solondz's first feature (*Fear, Anxiety, and
Depression*) is up for free on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nN1Tj3Ac40

*Welcome to the Dollhouse *is free on Crackle (a streaming service which
itself is free, though its movies have commercials, which is kind of a
shame).

On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 11:41 PM, Steven Koteff <steviekoteff at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Doesn't look like there are any books about Solondz out there, but if
> anybody happens to know of any good interviews with/articles about him, I'd
> appreciate the recommendation. Will do my own digging as well, obviously.
>
> While we're on the subject, I found this Amazon review of the screenplay
> for *Dollhouse *on Amazon. It is my belief that this guy does not get it.
>
>
> *4.0 out of 5 stars*
> <http://www.amazon.com/review/R2P6BEKN8IS2HZ/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0571190502&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books>Evil
> and funny!
> <http://www.amazon.com/review/R2P6BEKN8IS2HZ/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0571190502&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books>
> By John T. Coates
> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A4821U19QIH28/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp> on
> September 9, 2000
> Format: Paperback
> While you read this screenplay, you'll regret laughing at such a sad and
> tortured little girl. But then you'll say "Oh, what the hell..." and laugh
> some more. This is a comedy, and it's supposed to make you laugh. For
> people who like black comedies.
>
> On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 9:09 PM, Steven Koteff <steviekoteff at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Your outdoor friends had more liberal tastes than mine, who didn't get
>> too far afield from *The Boondock Saints*.
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 6:34 PM, Perry Noid <coolwithdoc at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> "Weiner, *you* better get ready, 'cause at three o'clock today, I'm
>>> gonna *RAPE you*!"
>>>
>>> It was one of those high school movies that my friends and I would rent
>>> and watch if we could find nothing else at the video stop to agree on, or
>>> the kind of movie to watch with friends who aren't exactly interested in
>>> "arty" or "intellectual" movies because it has something for both types of
>>> stoopid high schoolers, the indoor and outdoor kids (I'll let you all guess
>>> which one of the two I was). Other movies like that for me were Dazed and
>>> Confused, Harold and Maude, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Swingers,
>>> Trainspotting...the list goes on.
>>>
>>> I don't think I have seen any other Solondz flicks. Happiness has been
>>> on my watchlist for quite a while. I worked at a teeny movie theater
>>> (before I worked at the University film center, I worked in more than one
>>> theater growing up) and missed it when we showed it way back when and just
>>> haven't gotten around to seeing it yet. Lemme know what you think of
>>> Happiness whenever you get to it.
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 3:45 PM, Steven Koteff <steviekoteff at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Just finishing David Lynch in our movie project (whom I have become
>>>> sort of obsessed with; I can't overhype the esteem I hold him in now; he's
>>>> on my internal Olympus of artmakers) and moving into Todd Solondz.
>>>>
>>>> We watched TS's *Welcome to the Dollhouse *last night, and I really
>>>> recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. It's kind of a remarkable movie.
>>>> It's really just the story of a very socially-unfortunate suburban
>>>> 11-yr-old named Dawn. The persistent agony of her life as she comes of age.
>>>> It manages to be remarkably sad and moving about straightforwardly
>>>> emotional material without ever (in my opinion) becoming sentimental. It's
>>>> interesting to watch it on the heels of Lynch's stuff, as they both include
>>>> a lot of material that is overtly high-drama yet earn it in totally
>>>> different ways, despite both embracing the drama head-on. Solondz is much
>>>> dryer, though not at all disaffected. Very dark, very funny. Also maybe the
>>>> best and truest treatment of young characters (and use of young actors) I
>>>> can remember seeing in a movie. Maybe it helps that I was a child in
>>>> roughly the same era of the movie. But I think it's really well-done. There
>>>> are a few minor story elements I might quibble with, but not enough to
>>>> really diminish the effect of the movie much.
>>>>
>>>> Anybody seen this thing? Is Solondz generally on your radar?
>>>>
>>>> Apparently his new movie stars Greta Gerwig as the girl from *Dollhouse
>>>> *all grown up.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>
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