Todd Solondz

Directing

Todd Solondz

Born 1959-03-14 · Newark, New Jersey, USA

Todd Solondz (/ˈsoʊləndz/; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle-class American suburbia", a reflection of his own background in New Jersey. His work includes Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), Happiness (1998), Storytelling (2001), Palindromes (2004), Life During Wartime (2009), Dark Horse (2011), and Wiener-Dog (2016). He is also a professor at New York University. Description above from the Wikipedia article Todd Solondz, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

As Good as It Gets poster
7.4

A misanthropic author, a single mother and waitress, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.

As Good as It Gets

1997

Happiness poster
7.4

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

Happiness

1998

Married to the Mob poster
6.0

Angela de Marco is fed up with her gangster husband's line of work and wants no part of the crime world. When her husband is killed for having an affair with the mistress of mob boss Tony "The Tiger" Russo, Angela and her son depart for New York City to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, Tony has set his sights upon Angela -- and so has an undercover FBI agent looking to use her to bust Tony.

Married to the Mob

1988

Fear, Anxiety and Depression poster
6.0

An unsuccessful playwright faces trials and tribulations as he seeks to find himself in New York City.

Fear, Anxiety and Depression

1989

In Transit poster
8.3

A foreign musician is stranded at a New York City area hotel after the airline he was ready to take home collapses and replacement carrier flights are delayed. He bonds with a singing chambermaid.

In Transit

1986

Feelings poster
5.5

His first film shot with sound, Feelings is a two and a half minute movie made as an NYU film school assignment in 1984. Solondz himself takes the lead role of a sensitive young man who finds he can no longer endure life without his beloved. Photographed by Andy Day, the film is set to Todd Solondz's personal rendition of the song "Feelings" by Morris Albert.

Feelings

1985

Schatt's Last Shot poster
7.7

Solondz’s 1985 student short film “Schatt’s Last Shot” provides an ideal entry point to his unflinching universe of dark comic despair. A young Solondz stars in the 10-minute short as geeky high schooler Ezra Schatt, a neurotic, primitive headcase of the young Woody Allen variety. Buried under thick, unseemly glasses and an endlessly dazed expression, Ezra’s worst enemy is basketball. Unable to make a single basket under the brutal pressures of his vulgar gym teacher (“You’re shit, Schatt!”), Ezra also fails at both impressing the cheerleader of his dreams and realizing his aspirations of attending MIT.

Schatt's Last Shot

1985

Behind the camera

Happiness poster
7.4

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

Happiness

1998

Happiness poster
7.4

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

Happiness

1998

Venice 70: Future Reloaded poster
5.0

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.

Venice 70: Future Reloaded

2013

Venice 70: Future Reloaded poster
5.0

Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of the future of cinema.

Venice 70: Future Reloaded

2013

Welcome to the Dollhouse poster
7.1

An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

1996

Welcome to the Dollhouse poster
7.1

An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

1996

Welcome to the Dollhouse poster
7.1

An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

1996

Wiener-Dog poster
5.6

A dachshund passes from oddball owner to oddball owner, whose radically dysfunctional lives are all impacted by the pooch.

Wiener-Dog

2016

Wiener-Dog poster
5.6

A dachshund passes from oddball owner to oddball owner, whose radically dysfunctional lives are all impacted by the pooch.

Wiener-Dog

2016

Storytelling poster
6.5

College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.

Storytelling

2001

Storytelling poster
6.5

College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.

Storytelling

2001

Dark Horse poster
5.7

Abe is a man who is in his thirties and who lives with his parents. He works regretfully for his father while pursuing his hobby of collecting toys. Aware that his family doesn't think highly of him, he tries to spark a relationship with Miranda, who recently moved back home after a failed literary/academic career. Miranda agrees to marry Abe out of desperation, but things go awry.

Dark Horse

2012

Dark Horse poster
5.7

Abe is a man who is in his thirties and who lives with his parents. He works regretfully for his father while pursuing his hobby of collecting toys. Aware that his family doesn't think highly of him, he tries to spark a relationship with Miranda, who recently moved back home after a failed literary/academic career. Miranda agrees to marry Abe out of desperation, but things go awry.

Dark Horse

2012

Life During Wartime poster
5.9

Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.

Life During Wartime

2010

Life During Wartime poster
5.9

Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos.

Life During Wartime

2010

Palindromes poster
6.2

Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.

Palindromes

2005

Palindromes poster
6.2

Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.

Palindromes

2005

Fear, Anxiety and Depression poster
6.0

An unsuccessful playwright faces trials and tribulations as he seeks to find himself in New York City.

Fear, Anxiety and Depression

1989

Fear, Anxiety and Depression poster
6.0

An unsuccessful playwright faces trials and tribulations as he seeks to find himself in New York City.

Fear, Anxiety and Depression

1989

Cinema16: American Short Films poster
7.5

CINEMA16 celebrates the short film by showcasing some of the best classic and award-winning shorts on DVD. With over three hours of films CINEMA16: AMERICAN SHORT FILMS is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the moving image. Films include Gus Van Sant's 1982 adaptation of a William S. Burroughs short story, The Discipline Of DE, Tim Burton's early stop motion animated classic Vincent, George Lucas' USC short Freiheit, Alexander Payne's previously unreleased UCLA graduation short Carmen, Paperboys by Mike Mills, D.A. Pennebaker's Duke Ellington scored Daybreak Express, Todd Solondz's NYU short Feelings, along with Oscar Winner The Lunch Date by Adam Davidson, Stefan Nadelman's multi- award winning documentary Terminal Bar, Joe Nussbaum's cult classic George Lucas In Love and 2006 Sundance Winner The Wraith Of Cobble Hill by Adam Parrish King. Films are subtitled in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese, and include commentaries from many of the directors involved.

Cinema16: American Short Films

2006

Feelings poster
5.5

His first film shot with sound, Feelings is a two and a half minute movie made as an NYU film school assignment in 1984. Solondz himself takes the lead role of a sensitive young man who finds he can no longer endure life without his beloved. Photographed by Andy Day, the film is set to Todd Solondz's personal rendition of the song "Feelings" by Morris Albert.

Feelings

1985

Feelings poster
5.5

His first film shot with sound, Feelings is a two and a half minute movie made as an NYU film school assignment in 1984. Solondz himself takes the lead role of a sensitive young man who finds he can no longer endure life without his beloved. Photographed by Andy Day, the film is set to Todd Solondz's personal rendition of the song "Feelings" by Morris Albert.

Feelings

1985

No artwork available
NR

A woman is stuck in a loveless marriage to a brutish husband, but when a handsome vagabond stranger appears, her precocious 11-year-old hatches a plan to get rid of his father so that his mother can marry this new man instead. But things end up backfiring, so he comes up with yet another plan, this one even more devious, with more disastrous and unexpected consequences.

Love Child

No artwork available
NR

A woman is stuck in a loveless marriage to a brutish husband, but when a handsome vagabond stranger appears, her precocious 11-year-old hatches a plan to get rid of his father so that his mother can marry this new man instead. But things end up backfiring, so he comes up with yet another plan, this one even more devious, with more disastrous and unexpected consequences.

Love Child