Message of the Film

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Yes, I suppose it's a good thing to detach yourself from desire and be complacent with who you are, that's of course not always the case. Like you said, "we may be able to micromanage them with therapy and self-awareness". Through the constant need for self-improvement I've gone through plenty of drastic personality changes--although I think you might be right in that the core of us is really the same...throughout our lives.

As an Atheist, I personally don't care though. I'm happy in my apathy. I cling to the perhaps delusional optimistic notion that some day we'll be able to transcend these genetic limitations through Transhumanism, and it's something that I look forward to a lot, despite if it will be possible or not.

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I feel what's the point of life if you're not changing and growing? Of course some basic things about you might not change...like you might not never feel a need to torture people or animals....but many thing do change. For example, I was younger I was super introverted and anxious, and now most people could never guess I was introverted at one point in my life. In fact I student teach and don't even get nervous anymore, except the first day of class. Everything that scared me I would do so I don't have a whole lot of anxiety anymore either. Most people I know as they get older tend to be quite different from when they were younger....they're usually mellower, less neurotic, and less self-conscious. Have you ever seen the way someone will act when they're 18 vs. when they're 28? A HUGE world of difference (usually for the better). I also believe that through shear willpower you can change much of your life. Of course, I mean, if you can't sing you're never going to be on Broadway no matter how much you practice, but you can change most things if you really put your mind to it. I used to wish I was not shy. And I put conscious effort into doing social things that scared me. It took me probably 15 years, but now I am not shy anymore. I also think it's ridiculous when people say if you're a happy person you can be happy anywhere....I doubt that if you're getting your face burned off by acid while you have to wear a burqua (sp?) it's as easy for you to be happy as some kid that lives in Switzerland. I know I was a very unhappy child, that never smiled. Now, I laugh and smile all the time and am pretty happy most of the time...all because my environment changed drastically. Actually according to Psychological research as well we change more than we think....we like to think of ourselves as somewhat consistent though, so we usually don't recognize how much we've changed

Sometimes the difference between self-amusement and self-actualization is less than you think.

I think i can agree that the message might be
"People always end up the way they started out. No one ever changes."
Multiple characters in the movie change significantly due to circumstance and environment, but their mind and soul do not change.
1. Aviva, despite her travel and the physical change (of being played by multiple actresses) she still returns to the young girl who wants to have babies to love.
2.Bob-he summed himself up with,"How many times can I be born again?" He'll never be the good person he wants to be.
3.Aviva's mother, had an abortion in the past and is now making her daughter have one too.
4.Mark and Dawn from Welcome to the Dollhouse, it is clear their characters have not changed, of course Dawn is dead but it's not surprising or out of character.
5.Otto, in the end he returns to Aviva, acting like a man with his Corvette, but he still is decently immature-personality wise and sexually.
Palindromes-it ends the way it began.

I loved "Happiness (1998) and "Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995). In fact, I saw "Happiness" in Madrid, Spain right after it was released (I knew it had to see it then because I knew such a movie would NEVER been released in my town; "American Beauty" almost didn't make it to our town, and all the Kevin Spacey character did was *think* about having sex with a teenage girl). Anyway, the Spanish audience roared with laughter throughout "Happiness"...because many foreigners do see we Americans as the people portrayed in the film...and I have to admit that they are mostly right about us. Most of us are pretty shallow and dysfunctional most of the time.

However, while "Storytelling" (2001) was okay, "Palindromes" was a big let down for me. When Heather Materazzo passed on reprising Dawn Weinerdog, Todd Solondz should have buried "Palindromes." In fact, having seen some of Materazzo's later work as a "serious" dramatic actress, I think she blew it big time by not reprising Dawn one more time. Look what "Happiness" did for Lauren Flynn Boyle, Phillip Seymore Hoffman and Cameron Manheim. They're all HUGE stars now, Heather Materazzo is nothing. While I can understand that Materazzo might not want to be Dawn forever, she also kinds of reminds me of the woman who played Ginger on TV show "Gilligan's Island", who later refused to reprise her role in the movie...because she said it would make her NOT look like a serious actress.

In conclusion, I am looking forward to seeing "Life During Wartime" (2009) to give Todd another chance. I know it's hard to keep putting out films that are funny, critical and insightful. Yet for most of my favorite directors (Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, John Sayles, John Waters, Todd Solondz, etc). their best works has been their first works so I'm not holding my breath.