Wiener-Dog

After almost being inadvertently sent to an early grave by his wide-eyed juvenile owner, an insensible daschund passes through the hands of a lonely, sweet natured vet tech (Greta Gerwig), a hack screenwriter and film school professor (Danny DeVito), and a caustic elderly woman (Ellen Burstyn). Wiener-Dog features a typical Todd Solondz screenplay, residing somewhere between blackly humorous and just wrong, telling another distinct and accurately feeling suburban story that is found nowhere else in cinema I can think of. Much of the film's merit can be found in each individual story but not necessarily as a cohesive whole and it is odd that Solondz seems to be following the Au Hasard Balthazar blueprint, but generates almost no empathy for his star. Burstyn is wonderful in the final segment.

*** out of ****

Life During Wartime

Todd Solondz catches up with his characters from Happiness, assigns all new performers to take on the roles, and appropriates brand new (and much of the old) anguish and despair with which to struggle and suffer. What could have been an uninspired sequel of sorts or a victim of its stunt casting (not only do different actors take over but the types vary wildly, for example Ciaran Hinds takes over for Dylan Baker, Michael Kenneth Williams replaces Philip Seymour Hoffman, etc.) quickly becomes another piece of inspired storytelling from the master of American middle class misery.

Dark Horse

"We have central heating and a/c. What more could you ask for?"

An overweight man approaching middle age (Jordan Gelber) lives at home with his parents (Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow) and in the looming shadow of his younger, successful doctor brother (Justin Bartha), works for his disapproving father, vigorously collects toys, and drives a decked out Hummer, which impresses no one but himself. He begins dating a  beautiful, drugged out, severely depressed woman (Selma Blair) which is certain to spell even more misery while fantasizing about a former, older coworker (Donna Murphy. Todd Solondz's "Dark Horse" is another savagely funny, but deeply empathetic film, where he continues to lambaste an artificial modern American culture and one that personally hits home in more ways than one. Not everything works in the film. I felt the more fantastical elements could have been eliminated entirely, but mostly Solondz hits the nail on head while eliciting a tremendous performance from Gelber. Also, the ending strikes a particularly emotional chord.

Happiness

"Happiness" follows the despondent lives of trio of sisters in working class New Jersey: Joy (Jane Adams) works as a telemarketer and, feeling her life lacks meaning, decides to tech English to foreigners in the city, becoming involved with a brutish Russian cab driver (Jared Harris). Her beautiful sister Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle) is a best-selling author and toast of the family, but finds herself strangely drawn to the weirdo (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who continually directs harassing phone calls towards. Lastly, Trish (Cynthia Stevenson) seems to have an ideal middle class life, yet is utterly clueless as to what kind of a monster (Dylan Baker) she is married to.  Todd Solondz's film is an unrelenting exercise in misery and morbidity which, instead of other bleak, downtrodden movies which you feeling cold in empty, causes you to think and has a strange, cathartic effect.