| Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Jim Abrahams |
| Produced by | Penney Finkelman Cox |
| Written by | Karen Leigh Hopkins |
| Starring | Winona Ryder Jeff Daniels |
| Music by | Melissa Etheridge Thomas Newman |
| Cinematography | Paul Elliott |
| Editing by | Bruce Green |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 12, 1990 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million |
| Box office | $3,989,297 |
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael is a 1990 American comedy-drama film starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels.
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The film's main character is a 15-year-old girl named Dinky Bossetti (Ryder). Dinky was adopted 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 film 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.
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.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Graham Beckel | Les Bossetti |
| Thomas Wilson Brown | Gerald Howells |
| Jeff Daniels | Denton Webb |
| Terrence Evans | First Man at Legion Hall |
| Ava Fabian | Roxy Carmichael |
| Frances Fisher | Rochelle Bossetti |
| Carla Gugino | Young Roxy |
| Beth Grant | Lillian Logerfield |
| Valerie Landsburg | Miss Day Ashburn |
| Dinah Manoff | Evelyn Whittacher |
| Joan McMurtrey | Barbara Webb |
| Micole Mercurio | Louise Garweski |
| Ron Perkins | Will Groom |
| Laila Robins | Elizabeth Zaks |
| Winona Ryder | Dinky Bossetti |
| Robin Thomas | Scotty Sandholtzer |
| Stephen Tobolowsky | Mayor Bill Klepler |
In the film , the town is called Clyde, Ohio, a real town in Ohio, where parts of it were filmed. Some filming was done in Sandusky, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie.
Thomas Newman 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".
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