Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
Encyclopedia
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael is a 1990 American comedy-drama film starring Winona Ryder
and Jeff Daniels
.
as a baby. She appears to have little acceptance in her social circle, although it is not obvious which came first - her antisocial attitude or her being rejected by her peers. Her adoptive mother is disappointed that the daughter she chose has no interest in "feminine" things, such as makeup and nice clothing. Her classmates ostracise, taunt, and throw things at her regularly. 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.
As the story begins, Dinky is befriended by a new school guidance counselor, who recognizes her intelligence and spirit. Dinky becomes convinced that she is the abandoned daughter of Roxy Carmichael, a minor movie star who left town for Hollywood 15 years ago after giving birth to a baby girl out of wedlock. Miss Carmichael has been invited to return to town to assist in the dedication of a new municipal building, and she has accepted. The news of her return stirs up old jealousies and insecurities: old schoolmates start acting in irrational ways, while Denton Webb (Jeff Daniels
), the husband she abandoned when she left town, becomes so obsessed by the idea of her return that his wife moves out.
As the date for Roxy's return draws nearer, Dinky becomes more and more desperate to prove that she is Roxy's daughter, visiting the star's childhood home (which is maintained as a museum), and obsessively questioning Denton about what happened the night she 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. A limousine draws up, but a man gets out with a note of explanation: Roxy has not come back. Before the limousine can drive away, Dinky runs after it. Denton catches up with her and tells her the whole story (having realized the reason for Dinky's obsession with Roxy): although Roxy did have a baby, and did leave it with him, the baby died. Roxy is not Dinky's mother.
Left with nothing, Dinky is rescued by Gerald Howells, a popular boy who has become increasingly interested in her. At first, Dinky is suspicious of his interest, but the end of the film shows them together in a relationship where she finally holds the upper hand as things return to normal in the town.
, a real town in Ohio, where parts of it were filmed. Some filming was done in Sandusky, Ohio
, on the shore of Lake Erie
.
composed the original score for the film, which was released on cassette and compact disc by Varese 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 1990 album Yes I Am
as "I Will Never Be the Same".
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
and Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
.
Plot
The film's main character is a 15-year-old girl named Dinky Bossetti (Ryder). Dinky was adoptedAdoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
as a baby. She appears to have little acceptance in her social circle, although it is not obvious which came first - her antisocial attitude or her being rejected by her peers. Her adoptive mother is disappointed that the daughter she chose has no interest in "feminine" things, such as makeup and nice clothing. Her classmates ostracise, taunt, and throw things at her regularly. 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.
As the story begins, Dinky is befriended by a new school guidance counselor, who recognizes her intelligence and spirit. Dinky becomes convinced that she is the abandoned daughter of Roxy Carmichael, a minor movie star who left town for Hollywood 15 years ago after giving birth to a baby girl out of wedlock. Miss Carmichael has been invited to return to town to assist in the dedication of a new municipal building, and she has accepted. The news of her return stirs up old jealousies and insecurities: old schoolmates start acting in irrational ways, while Denton Webb (Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
), the husband she abandoned when she left town, becomes so obsessed by the idea of her return that his wife moves out.
As the date for Roxy's return draws nearer, Dinky becomes more and more desperate to prove that she is Roxy's daughter, visiting the star's childhood home (which is maintained as a museum), and obsessively questioning Denton about what happened the night she 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. A limousine draws up, but a man gets out with a note of explanation: Roxy has not come back. Before the limousine can drive away, Dinky runs after it. Denton catches up with her and tells her the whole story (having realized the reason for Dinky's obsession with Roxy): although Roxy did have a baby, and did leave it with him, the baby died. Roxy is not Dinky's mother.
Left with nothing, Dinky is rescued by Gerald Howells, a popular boy who has become increasingly interested in her. At first, Dinky is suspicious of his interest, but the end of the film shows them together in a relationship where she finally holds the upper hand as things return to normal in the town.
The elusive Roxy Carmichael
Roxy Carmichael is never fully shown in the film, nor is there ever any explanation given for her fame (with the exception of a reference to "The Roxy Carmichael School for Cosmetology and Drama"). We do learn that she once dated a musician who wrote a song about her which became a nationwide hit. He gave the air rights to Roxy, so she "gets paid every time the song is played" on the radio; this is apparently the source of her considerable wealth.Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Graham Beckel Graham Beckel Graham S. Beckel is an American character actor. He is known for his prolific guest appearances on television but has had prominent roles in several major films as well. Most recently he played Jack Fisk on Battlestar Galactica and Hal Sanders on Heroes... |
Les Bossetti |
| Thomas Wilson Brown Thomas Wilson Brown Thomas Wilson Brown is an American actor, who began his career at the age of eleven by playing Augie, the nephew of Scott Glenn and Kevin Costners' characters in the Lawrence Kasden western classic Silverado.... |
Gerald Howells |
| Jeff Daniels Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan... |
Denton Webb |
| Terrence Evans Terrence Evans Terrence Evans is an American actor who has appeared in a number of television and movie roles since 1977.Evans appeared in both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. His first appearance in Deep Space Nine was in the first season episode "Progress", in which he played the mute... |
First Man at Legion Hall |
| Ava Fabian Ava Fabian Ava Fabian is an American model and actress. She was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month in August 1986 and has appeared in numerous Playboy videos. Her centerfold was photographed by Arny Freytag and Richard Fegley.Fabian played Roxy Carmichael in the movie Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael,... |
Roxy Carmichael |
| Frances Fisher Frances Fisher Frances Fisher is a British actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven , and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic .- Early life and education :Fisher was born... |
Rochelle Bossetti |
| Carla Gugino Carla Gugino Carla Gugino is an American actress known for her roles of Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, Dr. Vera Gorski in Sucker Punch, Lucille in Sin City, Amanda Daniels in seasons 3, 5 and 7 of Entourage, Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids film trilogy, and as the lead characters of the television series Karen Sisco... |
Young Roxy |
| Beth Grant Beth Grant Beth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules.... |
Lillian Logerfield |
| Valerie Landsburg Valerie Landsburg Valerie Landsburg is an American actress, television and film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She is best known for her role as Doris Schwartz in the 1982 series Fame, interpreting, for television, the role that Maureen Teefy had originated in the film. She was also the lead singer... |
Miss Day Ashburn |
| Dinah Manoff Dinah Manoff Dinah Beth Manoff is an American stage, film and television actress and television director best known for her roles as Elaine Lefkowitz on Soap, Marty Maraschino in the film Grease, Libby Tucker in both the stage and film adaptations of I Ought to Be in Pictures, for which she won a Tony award,... |
Evelyn Whittacher |
| Joan McMurtrey | Barbara Webb |
| Micole Mercurio | Louise Garweski |
| Ron Perkins | Will Groom |
| Laila Robins Laila Robins -Personal life:Robins was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Latvian American parents Brigita and Janis Robins, who was a research chemist. She attended the Yale School of Drama, and received her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, . Robins has been in a... |
Elizabeth Zaks |
| Winona Ryder Winona Ryder Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition... |
Dinky Bossetti |
| Robin Thomas Robin Thomas Robin Thomas is an American film and television actor.He was born Robin Thomas Grossman in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His best-known television roles are as Mark Singleton in the soap opera Another World , and as Geoffrey Wells on the 1980s series Who's the Boss?... |
Scotty Sandholtzer |
| Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons... |
Mayor Bill Klepler |
Production notes
In the film , the town is called Clyde, OhioClyde, Ohio
Clyde is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Clyde as a Tree City USA....
, a real town in Ohio, where parts of it were filmed. Some filming was done in Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
, on the shore of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
.
Soundtrack
Thomas NewmanThomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor, best known for his many film scores. He is one of the more respected and recognized composers for modern film and has scored over fifty feature films in a career which spans nearly three decades.Newman has received a total of ten...
composed the original score for the film, which was released on cassette and compact disc by Varese Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
. Although Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
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 1990 album Yes I Am
Yes I Am
Yes I Am is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released by Island Records on September 21, 1993 . The title is generally thought to refer to Etheridge's recent coming out as a lesbian, confirming long-standing rumors about her personal life. This is the album...
as "I Will Never Be the Same".
- In the Closet (1:45)
- Little Black Bird (1:23)
- Hers Are Nicest (1:10)
- Refrigerator Shrine (2:36)
- Missing Bossetti Child (:56)
- Wake Up (1:26)
- Clyde (1:44)
- Her Limousine (1:57)
- Several Letters (1:12)
- Choke It (2:18)
- Arriving by Aeroplane (:56)
- Cleveland (1:12)
- Yours Are Nice (:41)
- Baby Soup (2:56)
- In a Beauty Parlor (:35)
- G. on a Bike (1:06)
- Her Majesty's Dress (1:22)
- This Was My Intention (2:29)
- In a Small Town (1:33)