For a while in the late 1980s, Winona Ryder appeared to be the poster child for troubled teens in American cinema. Whether as the morbid Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988), Veronica Sawyer in Heathers (1989), or Charlotte Flax in Mermaids (1990), these roles defined her early career and popular success. Wedged between the latter films, lacking popular, cult, or critical success, comes her starring role in Jim Abrahams’ Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990). A recent bluray release by Australian distributor Via Vision offers viewers a fresh chance to watch this underrated comedy-drama; hopefully more than a few will take up the opportunity. I think the film deserves it.

Dinky Bossetti (Ryder) is a unpopular 15-year-old in the small American town of Clyde, Ohio, choosing to spend more time with her secret menagerie of rescued animals that with her peers or classmates. Meanwhile the entire town grows obsessed when they learn Roxy Carmichael – its most famous former resident – may be returning home for a visit. After meeting Roxy’s ex-boyfriend Denton Webb (Jeff Daniels), Dinky also grows obsessed with her return; Roxy suspects she may be her biological mother.

Ryder delivers another awkward, wise-but-foolish variant of her archetypal character. It is interesting to see how the general character changes from film to film. In this case, while Dinky retains the general smarts of the typical Ryder ingenue she is significantly less mature. She stumbles around a possible romance with classmate Gerald (Thomas Wilson Brown). She jumps to conclusions and acts out in childish, rebellious ways. In Denton she finds an unexpected sympathetic ear. She also has to be forcibly dragged into an odd confessional relationship with her guidance counselor, Elizabeth Zaks (Laila Robins), which plays out in a slightly inappropriate fashion as it develops. While it all feels rather messy, it has a strong ring of truth to it. Adolescence is messy, and while the film does hew closely to the prettied-up tone of Hollywood teen drama it is at least willing to muddy things up to an extent.

Jeff Daniels is typically excellent in what could easily be an ordinary role. When Roxy left town, Denton stayed behind. Now married with children, he must live with his wife’s paranoia that he never quite moved on emotionally from that first romance – and also acknowledge that his wife may have a point. While Daniels has clearly never struggled to find work, I do still believe he’s one of America’s more underrated actors. Supporting performances by Zaks, Brown, and others are all reasonably strong – particular Frances Fisher as Dinky’s image-obsessed, constantly frustrated mother.

Interestingly while the primary narrative is a realist drama, peppered with funny moments and dialogue, the film’s background is an out-and-out satire of small town obsessions. The town of Clyde is positively obsessed with Roxy Carmichael’s climactic return, to such a degree that it opens up old wounds among those who knew her, forces others into ridiculous behaviours, and gets more over-the-top as it goes. In that regard it is perfect casting to have Stephen Tobolowsky (Groundhog Day) play the local mayor. When the film finally comes around to explaining the reason for Roxy’s immense fame, it’s difficult not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. It is not a surprise that Abrahams directs this part of the movie most effectively: this was his first dramatic work, after a string of successful comedies including Airplane, Top Secret, and Ruthless People.

While no masterpiece, Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael is a genuinely enjoyable film in that particular late-1980s style. It allows viewers to revisit the aesthetic and tone in a movie that they probably have not seen before. It is a pleasant way to re-experience the early phase of Winona Ryder’s career with a nostalgic frame of mind.