Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael is a 1990 American comedy-drama film that was directed by Jim Abrahams. It stars Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels.

Plot
Dinky Bossetti is a 15-year-old girl who was adopted as a baby. Dinky is an unkempt goth kid who is constantly picked on at school, her antisocial attitude and behaviors are clearly caused by her intelligence, her adoptive parents not accepting Dinky for who she is and her bullying and being outcast by her peers. Dinky finds solace in her "Ark", a small cabin-boat beached on a lake shore. In and around the boat, Dinky has collected a menagerie of abandoned animals who are her friends/family.

Dinky's adoptive mother Rochelle is disappointed that the daughter she chose has no interest in "feminine" things, such as makeup and nice clothing. Rochelle cannot relate to or understand Dinky. Her adoptive father, Les, passively allows his wife to scold Dinky and send her to various "counselors" who are little more than temporary jailers. Her teachers give her no support when classmates ostracize, taunt, and throw things at her. Dinky enjoys thumbing her nose at her peers and embarrasses Gerald, a cute popular boy, by reading a condescending love poem to him in class.

Dinky is befriended by the new school guidance counselor Elizabeth Zaks, who recognizes her intelligence and spirit. Ms. Zaks tries to encourage Dinky to improve her appearance and get along with others more effectively, without compromising her true self. Gerald begins to show his interest in Dinky and tries to get other students to stop harassing her, but Dinky doesn't notice, even though he occasionally spies on her. Dinky becomes convinced that she is the abandoned daughter of Roxy Carmichael, a former townie who left for Hollywood 15 years before. She got a song written about her that was a hit, and all the royalties from the song were given to her for life. Roxy has been invited to return to town to assist in the dedication of a new municipal building. Dinky becomes fixated on the many similarities she shares with Roxy and questions the town folks for memories of her. The news of her return stirs up old jealousies and insecurities: old schoolmates gossip wildly. Dinky harasses Denton Webb, Roxy's old boyfriend, for information and he lets it slip that Roxy secretly had his baby before she left town. He doesn't realize Dinky thinks she is the abandoned baby. Denton becomes so obsessed with Roxy's return that his wife Barbara moves out. Barbie cannot live in the shadows of a woman who never loved Denton, but Denton still loves.

As the date for Roxy's return draws nearer, Dinky becomes more and more desperate to prove that she is Roxy's daughter (to herself - she needs to believe she is more in the world and someone will get/love her), She visited the star's childhood home (which is maintained as a cheesy museum), and obsessively questions Denton about what happened the night Roxy left, believing that Roxy will take her away to a new life. On the day that Roxy is due to arrive, Dinky packs her suitcase and arrives at the welcoming ceremony in a beautiful dress. Rochelle has invited representatives from a boarding school so she can send Dinky away, but Les finally stands up to his spouse and reminds her Dinky is their daughter. A limousine draws up, but a man gets out with an RSVP saying that Roxy will not attend. We never know if she was going to go to the ceremony or not until this RSVP arrives...but clearly the town is obsessed with Roxy still. Before the limousine can drive away, Dinky runs after it. Realizing the reason for Dinky's obsession with Roxy, Denton catches up with her and tells her the whole story: although Roxy did have a baby girl, and did leave her with him, the baby died. Roxy is not Dinky's mother, nor is he her father.

Left with nothing, Dinky is rescued by Gerald, who has developed feelings for her. At first, Dinky is suspicious of his interest, but the end of the film shows them together in a relationship where she is really appreciated for who she is, as things return to "normal" in this small town that proves, big or little, people are just trying to learn, survive and be loved for who they are.

Production notes
The setting of the film, Clyde, Ohio, is a real town. However the film features locations in Sandusky, Ohio as well. Located on the shore of Lake Erie.

Reception
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 55% approval rating based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

One of the most outspoken detractors of the film was Variety, whose comments about it were that "fans of Winona Ryder will definitely want to catch her in an offbeat role as the town rebel in this teen-oriented small-town saga; unfortunately, the rest of the production doesn't quite match up."

Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars in his original review, and said that "Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael" contains one small treasure: a perceptive and particular performance by Winona Ryder in the role of a high school outcast", and that "her work is surrounded by a screenplay so flat-footed that much of our time is spent waiting impatiently for foregone conclusions."

Soundtrack
Thomas Newman composed the original score for the film, which was released on cassette and compact disc by Varèse Sarabande. Although Melissa Etheridge wrote and performed two original songs for the film - "Don't Look At Me" and "In Roxy's Eyes (I Will Never Be the Same)" - neither is included on the soundtrack album; while the former has never been released, the latter is included on her 1993 album Yes I Am as "I Will Never Be the Same".


 * 1) In the Closet (1:45)
 * 2) Little Black Bird (1:23)
 * 3) Hers Are Nicest (1:10)
 * 4) Refrigerator Shrine (2:36)
 * 5) Missing Bossetti Child (:56)
 * 6) Wake Up (1:26)
 * 7) Clyde (1:44)
 * 8) Her Limousine (1:57)
 * 9) Several Letters (1:12)
 * 10) Choke It (2:18)
 * 11) Arriving by Aeroplane (:56)
 * 12) Cleveland (1:12)
 * 13) Yours Are Nice (:41)
 * 14) Baby Soup (2:56)
 * 15) In a Beauty Parlor (:35)
 * 16) G. on a Bike (1:06)
 * 17) Her Majesty's Dress (1:22)
 * 18) This Was My Intention (2:29)
 * 19) In a Small Town (1:33)