Wiener-Dog **** (2016, Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy, Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito, Ellen Burstyn) – Movie Review

Writer-director Todd Solondz strings together four otherwise apparently unconnected tales with the linking device of the titular Wiener-Dog as it travels around the country, spreading chaos, comfort and joy to various humans. The tales are all quite intense, and intensely quite peculiar.

In some aspects, Wiener-Dog forms a belated sequel to Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995). Greta Gerwig plays Dawn Wiener, the character from Welcome to the Dollhouse, originally played by Heather Matarazzo, who turned down the idea of reprising her role.

The first tale is about a young boy called Remi (Keaton Nigel Cooke) struggling to understand his dog’s place in the world with the help of his French mom (Julie Delpy); the second part reunites the Welcome to the Dollhouse characters Dawn and Brandon (Kieran Culkin); then there is a pause-for-laughter intermission; the third chapter focuses on screen writing professor Dave Schmerz (Danny DeVito), who is struggling to sell a script; and finally the fourth surreal part focuses on a crabby, elderly woman, Nana (Ellen Burstyn) whose long-absent daughter comes to visit, looking for money for her freaky artist boyfriend, Fantasy (Michael James Shaw).

As usual with Solondz, the film is provocative, uncomfortable and disturbing, but also witty and clever. Certainly everybody is struggling – and I’m struggling too because Wiener-Dog is elusive as to its meaning, so it is hard to pin it down and say what it is actually about. It so isn’t about the dog though! So I guess it is best just to sit back and enjoy it as a kind of surreal black comedy. It’s a smart cast and they are a strong asset for Solondz. Also in the cast are Zosia Mamet, Tracy Letts, Devin Druid and Clara Mamet.

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© Derek Winnert 2016 Movie Review

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