History Creator / ToddSolondz

* RefugeInAudacity: His jokes revolve around rape, child molestation, massacres, and bestiality. One of his most "sympathetic" protagonists fantasizes about ''killing children''.

Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959 in Newark, New Jersey) is a director of independent films who got his big break with the release of ''{{Film/Welcome To The Dollhouse}}''. He has since gone on to direct films such as ''Film/Happiness1998'', ''Storytelling'', ''Film/{{Palindromes}}'', ''Dark Horse'', and most recently, ''Film/WienerDog''.

He can be compared to the likes of Creator/BretEastonEllis and Creator/LarryClark, whose works deal with very similar themes about the dark side of humanity and self destructive behavior.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: There's a lot of masturbation in his films.

* ''Film/{{Palindromes}} (2004)

* MistakenForRacist: Satirizes race in Film/{{Storytelling}}, where a bland, depressed white blonde is raped by her black professor while telling her to call him racist names. When she writes about it, her classmates dismiss her as a racist white girl.

* SelfDeprecation: [[spoiler:One of his segments in Film/{{Storytelling}} has a documentary filmmaker who becomes increasingly misanthropic, bitter, and angry at the world, and paints his documentary subject, an everyday high school student, in an incredibly harsh, hateful light. In the end, the student, who has had his entire family killed by [[ItMakesSenseInContext a disgruntled cleaning lady]], angrily tells off the filmmaker. Sound familiar?]]

* MistakenForRacist: Satirizes race in Storytelling, where a bland, depressed white blonde is raped by her black professor while telling her to call him racist names. When she writes about it, her classmates dismiss her as a racist white girl.

* SelfDeprecation: [[spoiler:One of his segments in ''Storytelling'' has a documentary filmmaker who becomes increasingly misanthropic, bitter, and angry at the world, and paints his documentary subject, an everyday high school student, in an incredibly harsh, hateful light. In the end, the student, who has had his entire family killed by [[ItMakesSenseInContext a disgruntled cleaning lady]], angrily tells off the filmmaker. Sound familiar?]]

[[quoteright:214:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/happyhappyjoyjoy_8694.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:214:[[TheEeyore Looks happy, doesn't he?]]]]
Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is a director of independent films who got his big break with the release of ''{{Film/Welcome To The Dollhouse}}''. He has since gone on to direct films such as ''Film/Happiness1998'', ''Storytelling'', ''Film/{{Palindromes}}'', ''Dark Horse'', and most recently, ''Film/WienerDog''.

And his films are '''dark'''. He's made a name for himself as one of the most controversial and nihilistic cinematic minds working today, with his movies painting an increasingly misanthropic and brutal portrayal of existence, particularly in the New Jersey suburbs. They're loaded with NightmareFuel and {{Squick}}, so by no means are they for the squeamish. You have been warned.

* SoundtrackDissonance: In ''Wiener Dog'', a montage of a boy having fun with his dog is set to the melancholy "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy.

Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is a director of independent films who got his big break with the release of ''{{Film/Welcome To The Dollhouse}}''. He has since gone on to direct films such as ''Happiness'', ''Storytelling'', ''Film/{{Palindromes}}'', ''Dark Horse'', and most recently, ''Film/WienerDog''.

Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is a director of independent films who got his big break with the release of ''{{Film/Welcome To The Dollhouse}}''. He has since gone on to direct films such as ''Happiness'', ''Storytelling'', ''Palindromes'', ''Dark Horse'', and most recently, ''Film/WienerDog''.

He can be compared to the likes of Creator/BretEastonEllis and Creator/LarryClark, whose works deal with very similar themes about humanity.

He can be compared to the likes of Creator/BretEastonEllis and Creator/LarryClarke, whose works deal with very similar themes about humanity.

* SelfDeprecation: [[spoiler:One of his segments in ''Storytelling'' was a documentary filmmaker who becomes increasingly misanthropic, bitter, and angry at the world, and paints his documentary subject, an everyday high school student, in an incredibly harsh, hateful light. In the end, the student, who has had his entire family killed by [[ItMakesSenseInContext a disgruntled cleaning lady]], angrily tells off the filmmaker. Sound familiar?]]

* SelfDeprecation: [[spoiler:One of his films in Storytelling was a documentary writer who becomes increasingly misanthropic, bitter, and angry at the world, and paints his documentary subject, an everyday normal dude, in an incredibly harsh, hateful light. In the end, the everyday normal dude, who has his entire family killed by [[ItMakesSenseInContext a disgruntled cleaning lady]], angrily tells off the writer. Sound familiar?]]

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: [[CaptainObvious Take a fucking guess.]]

Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is a director of independent films who got his big break with the release of ''{{Film/Welcome To The Dollhouse}}''. He has since gone on to direct films such as ''Happiness'', ''Storytelling'', ''Palindromes'', ''Dark Horse'', and most recently, ''Wiener Dog''.

Todd Solondz is a director of independent films who got his big break with the release of ''{{Film/Welcome To The Dollhouse}}''. He has since gone on to direct films such as ''Happiness'', ''Storytelling'', ''Palindromes'', ''Dark Horse'', and most recently, ''Wiener Dog''.

* SelfDeprecation: One of his films in Storytelling was a documentary writer who becomes increasingly misanthropic, bitter, and angry at the world, and paints his documentary subject, an everyday normal dude, in an incredibly harsh, hateful light. In the end, the everyday normal dude, who has his entire family killed by [[ItMakesSenseInContext a disgruntled cleaning lady]], angrily tells off the writer. Sound familiar?

* SelfDeprecation: One of his films in Storytelling was a documentary writer who becomes increasingly misanthropic, bitter, and angry at the world, and paints his documentary subject, an everyday normal dude, in an incredibly harsh, hateful light. In the end, the everyday normal dude, who has his entire family killed by [[ItMakesSenseInContext a disgruntled gardener]], angrily tells off the writer. Sound familiar?

* BitingTheHandHumor: In ''Wiener-Dog'', Dave Schmerz (Creator/DannyDeVito) is a cynical, exasperated screenwriting professor in New York City who [[spoiler:Tries to use Wiener-Dog in order to blow up the school.]] Solondz also teaches screenwriting at NYU.

Todd Solondz is a director of independent films who got his big break with the release of ''{{Film/Welcome To The Dollhouse}}''. He has since gone on to direct films such as ''Happiness'', ''Storytelling'', ''Palindromes'', and more recently, ''Dark Horse''.