Wiener-Dog

If you haven't seen anything by Todd Solondz, you have been missing out. Seriously, you have not lived until you have seen the absolutely pitch black comedies that he has directed. Classics such as "Happiness" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse" have been among my favorites for years, and no these are not films concerning happy people, or the fantasies invoked by the image of a child's toy. Todd Solondz captures a spark of the American consciousness that is both upsetting and completely ridiculous. You hope that these people are not real, that these situations do not impact the daily lives of anyone you truly love and cherish, but they absolutely do.

Solondz has been making movies for twenty years but none of them have been as immensely loved as the two I just mentioned. This particular film premiered at Sundance in January and was bought up by IFC and Amazon Studios for VOD release in April. This low key release hasn't lent to great word of mouth, but then again what are you going to say about this film that would make someone willingly watch it? Do you talk about the section where Danny DeVito plays a defeated and morose screen writing professor? The first section that shows the acquisition of the wiener dog and its subsequent sickness via the ingestion of chocolate? (And all the mess that entails) What you should tell people is that it's atmospheric, moody, and self- assured in its stark representations of down and out losers.

Solondz films don't show winners. They show people who deserve far worse than they're getting, or people who are so devastatingly wrong in every aspect of their lives that it's embarrassing to watch them just live them. The characters he chose for this film are each unique in a very different way. Julie Delpy's soft spoken mother consistency tries to break bad news to her child about the facts of life by overtly lying to his face. Terrible, inscrutable words form on her lips and flow out of her in a delivery style that is so blunt that it physically hurts.

Honestly, if you like weird, this is going to be your favorite film of the year. While it doesn't exaggerate its mood with grand effects or strange settings, it's a film that tells the little person's tale. Grandmothers sometimes don't connect with their offspring. Parents sometimes can't trust their children. Making a spontaneous decision can change big aspects of your life. These are the themes that Solondz focuses on to great effect, and though these are small spaces, they produce a grand film.

I went into this thinking it was a sequel to Welcome to the Dollhouse; I guess it technically is but it has greater concerns than letting us know what happened to Dawn and the rest of the WttD crew so adjust your expectations accordingly.

The movie is broken up into 4 parts, each part focusing on a different owner of the titular Weiner-dog.

The first part was my favorite, about a young boy struggling to understand his dog's place in the world. It is sweet and funny and I was incredibly nervous about what would become of the dog since I did not know the movie would take on a 4 chapter structure.

The second part reunites the Welcome to the Dollhouse characters Dawn and Brandon. Greta Gerwig's performance was a little strange and there were some distracting continuity issues and cutting. In fact, the entire movie had very distracting moments of editing, usually cutting back and forth from character to character for each individual line. It's very jarring, particularly because the moments without dialogue are usually portrayed in long takes.

There is an intermission, it is fantastic.

The third part is the weakest. It focuses on Dave, a screen writing professor, who is struggling to sell a script. It drags on a bit long and ends with a punchline that doesn't really have a ton of punch.

The fourth part is a bit more surreal, and feels more similar to his recent movies. It focuses on an elderly woman whose daughter comes to visit. Then takes sort of a bizarre turn in its second half.

I walked away from the movie thinking it was great but feeling terrible.

Overall, Todd Solondz continues to be one of the most interesting filmmakers out there. I feel like he's definitely making the kind of movies he wants to be making: quiet comedies reflecting our superficial, pathetic, and delirious culture packed with incredibly uncomfortable conversations and situations; I just think his previous work is more interesting.

There is a scene in (Danny DeVito) Dave Schmerz's office which shows a movie poster for Dave Schmerz's "Apricots". The poster is clearly based on Woody Allen's "Bananas".

There were lots of little things like this in this movie, just thrown in there but not brought explicitly to your attention.

One of the reasons I appreciate Solondz.

I found this movie very enjoyable and satisfying. It is, though rather subtle about it, a comedy... though many plainly fail to see that. Frankly, I expected something more dry and dark. I ended up feeling really glad I had gone.

Many small things to notice and appreciate, and some very good acting all around. Some genuinely poignant moments sprinkled throughout. There were also a few little digs at recent films... twice a shot of the boy reclining which recalled "Boyhood", and the 'Intermission' plainly mocks "The Hateful Eight"

You probably have to 'get' Solondz, and know what to expect. DO NOT go in expecting a wacky pic about a kooky pup. But if you do get his stuff, I say this is his best since "Happiness"

Seems like it's too easy to offend people nowadays.

Seriously, if at least 20 users voted 1 for this movie, it is not about director, actors, story or photography. It is more about their state of mind, and some kind of emotional instability.

First of all, this is a movie which has it's own style (moreover Todd Solondz has it's own unique style), which is simple, yet requires certain movie watching experience, and sense for slight surrealism. It was never intended to be artsy, au contraire, it mocks to 'too artsy' attitude...

All characters were intentionally made like caricatures, in order to present their flaws and shortcomings in more obvious, yet funny and sarcastic way. But don't get fooled so easily, all of them reflects real behavior, which we can observe all around us: parents who make up idiotic stories instead of simply tell the truth to their kids, lonely losers with dysfunctional families, worthless but pathologically ambitious people, shameless nerdy hipsters, damien hirst wannabees and such charming creatures...

Simply, it's highly sarcastic, anti-indie, somehow childish-style comedy, which may offend only someone who perceived it as a mirror...

Ah yes, it's called "Wiener-dog" so everyone expected a warm dog story, and they all ended up disappointed? Then watch Disney instead.

This film tells four stories that involve Wiener Dogs, their owners and the people around them.

The film has nice bright sets, and the people look seemingly bubbly enough most of the time. If you look at the screenshots, you'll be forgiven for thinking it's a comedy. However, the stories are actually rather dark and disturbing. There is a child with cancer, a drug addict whose father just died, a depressed professor and a grumpy old woman. The four stores are equally good, they are touching and convey much emotions but still manage to be individually unique. The clash of the bubbly tone and dark subject matter is very interesting. Acting is great as well, especially Danny DeVito and Ellen Burstyn.