Much of what makes a Todd Solondz movie compelling is its ability to strike a razor-thin balance between sincerity and satire, between tragedy and absurdity. His films are like horrible car wrecks that cause more horrible car wrecks and become horrible, twisted, mountains of burning cars. Two cars crashing is terrible, three or four is worse but at some point, if it keeps piling up, it becomes ridiculous which opens the door to humor. A dissociative, unstable, nervous sort of humor but humor none the less. In an interview, Solondz once said “Comedy and pathos are inextricably intertwined.”
