Dawn Wiener is back…sort of.
“Welcome to the Dollhouse,” which starred Heather Matarazzo as a character named Dawn Wiener, won the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize in 1995, and director Todd Solondz returned to the fest this year with “Wiener-Dog,” a film that features a character named Dawn Wiener, but is now played by indie darling Greta Gerwig. The official word is that it’s not the same Dawn Wiener, but as this is now the third Solondz film to feature the character, it can hardly be considered a coincidence.
The film’s official synopsis describes “Wiener-Dog” as “a dark, starkly funny story of a single dog and the many different people she touches over her short lifetime. Man’s best friend starts out teaching a young boy some contorted life lessons before being taken in by a compassionate vet tech named Dawn Wiener. Dawn reunites with someone from her past and sets off on a road trip. After leaving Dawn, Wiener-Dog encounters a floundering film professor, as well as an embittered elderly woman and her needy granddaughter — all longing for something more.”
“Wiener-Dog” co-stars Ellen Burstyn (“House of Cards”) as a cranky grandma who seems utterly hilarious, as well as Julie Delpy (“Before Sunrise”) and Zosia Mamet (“Girls”). It was co-produced by Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures and Christine Vachon’s Killer Films. The film opens on June 24. Watch the trailer below: