[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/todd_solondz.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[TheEeyore Looks happy, doesn't he?]]]]

->''"So far, at least, I haven't found a way to tell my kind of stories without making them both sad and funny."''

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/{{Happiness|1998}}'', ''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 a bleakly misanthropic and brutal portrait of human 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.

Solondz 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.
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!!His Filmography

* Fear, Anxiety, and Depression (1989)
* ''Film/WelcomeToTheDollhouse'' (1995)
* ''Film/{{Happiness}}'' (1998)
* ''Film/{{Storytelling}}'' (2002)
* ''Film/{{Palindromes}}'' (2004)
* ''Life During Wartime'' (2009)
* ''Dark Horse'' (2012)
* ''Film/WienerDog'' (2016)

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!!Tropes found in himself and his work:
* TheBadGuyWins
* 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.
-->'''Solondz''': ''"NYU. It is an evil empire. I’m in awe of how incompetent and corrupt the administration is. But that said, I love teaching there. I love the students. It’s the opposite of making a movie. I can’t take any of the credit, or any of the blame, for the students’ work."''
* BlackComedy: Of the cruelest, harshest kind imaginable. He's described himself as Creator/JuddApatow's dark older brother.
* BlackAndGreyMorality: When not EvilVersusEvil outright. ''Film/WelcomeToTheDollhouse'' is the best example. Guess which side ends up winning?
* BrainBleach: You're going to need it. And maybe some therapy. [[DrowningMySorrows And alcohol]].
* CrapsackWorld: No shit.
* DownerEnding: Quite fond of these.
* DysfunctionJunction: His characters, at the very least, aren't exactly happy, stable, moral, or all three.
* TheEeyore: Most of the time.
* EvilVersusEvil: No one is innocent in Solondz's work. ''No one.''
* {{Euroshlock}}: Despite being American productions, his films nonetheless have a lot in common with this trope. LeaveTheCameraRunning? Check. {{Gorn}} and {{Squick}}? Check. Overbearing angst and gloominess? ''Checkola''.
* {{Gorn}}: Sometimes utilizes this.
* HumansAreBastards: Arguably ''the'' defining element of his films. If there are characters that aren't depraved, selfish, or apathetic, expect them either to make a FaceHeelTurn or be crushed by the story's end. Or raped. Or dead. [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Or raped]] [[ILoveTheDead after death.]]
* {{Intermission}}: There's a tongue-in-cheek one in ''Wiener Dog''.
* KarmaHoudini: Too many to count.
* LeaveTheCameraRunning: Comes with making the American equivalent of {{Euroshlock}}.
* LighterAndSofter: Bizarrely enough, some critics noted that ''Dark Horse'', a film about an irritating ManChild in a [[NoSparks bizarre, unloving romance]] with a depressed woman, was the least hateful of all his films. The New York Times argued that it was asking if the main character, despite all his flaws, was deserving of love - unlike the other films, which heap scorn on [[VillainProtagonist the protagonists]].
* LookBothWays: [[spoiler:The unfortunate fate of the wiener dog in the movie of the same name.]]
* 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.
* MisanthropeSupreme / StrawNihilist: What critics of the films tend to stereotype him as. He's complained about it before, and several critics point out that, while the films ''are'' mocking and misanthropic, they still humanize their subjects.
* OldShame: He doesn't seem to be fond of ''Fear, Anxiety & Depression'', which was his directorial debut.
* PerpetualFrowner: Good luck finding any pictures of the man with even the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
* RefugeInAudacity: His jokes revolve around rape, child molestation, massacres, and bestiality. One of his most "sympathetic" protagonists fantasizes about ''raping children''.
* 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?]]
* ShootTheShaggyDog
%% * SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Take a fucking guess.
* SociopathicHero: If you're lucky, you might find one of these in his films.
* SoundtrackDissonance: A recurring feature in his films, often concerning classical music.
* VillainProtagonist: The standard main character of a Solondz film, if they're not a complete ButtMonkey or CosmicPlaything.
* WriteWhatYouKnow: Supposedly, the dark satire of his films were inspired by his time growing up in New Jersey.
* YouCantFightFate: Noted to be incredibly fatalist.