Todd Solondz’s Happiness (1998) and Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996) have become cult classics of suburban American malaise. His latest film, Storytelling, composed of two unlinked stories set against the terrain of university, high school, suburbia, the past and the present feeds on this same idea.

The first tale, “Fiction,” looks at the relationship between two students and their Pulitzer Prize-winning creative writing professor at a second-rate American university. Vi (Selma Blair) and her boyfriend Marcus (Leo Fitzpatrick) are two literary wannabes whose talents fall far short of what their professor (Robert Wisdom) considers good writing.

A short-lived breakup over a bad short story, an uncomfortable S&M episode and another short story the next day make up the action of “Fiction.”

Selma Blair gives a dull performance as the insecure and shallow Vi. While Fitzpatrick gives a convincing and sympathetic portrayal of a character suffering from cerebral palsy and literary keenness, his character is both too small and too flat. The only powerful presence in this segment of the film is Robert Wisdom’s quietly domineering performance as the cynical and ultimately destructive washed-up novelist.

In the second part of the film, “Non-Fiction,” Toby (Paul Giamatti), a geeky and unfulfilled New York director, persuades Scooby, a high school senior living in comfy suburban New Jersey with his family (John Goodman, Julie Hagerty, Noah Fleiss and Jonathan Osser) to be the subject of his documentary on teen angst and the college application process.

Scooby is a feckless soft-drug aficionado who dreams of becoming a late-night talk show host. His parents, meanwhile, can’t understand his malaise and try everything possible to get him into a good college.

His little brother Brady, with the aid of a little hypnotism, becomes master of the house and edges Scooby and comatose brother Mikey out of their father’s affections, with grotesque consequences.

As Scooby, Mark Webber gives a convincing but somewhat distant performance. While Scooby has no problem venting his empty rage while listening to Elton John, we never understand why he’s so listless and indifferent.

As his parents, John Goodman and Julie Hagerty are superb. Goodman’s physical weight and Hagerty’s tiny frame reflect the emotional and psychological determination of their characters. Paul Giamatti gives a great performance as Toby. He’s not too clever or slick, but the audience slowly realizes that exploiting and humiliating Scooby on film is the last chance he has to make something of his so-far-useless life.

Though the two narratives of the film are unconnected, the soundtrack, featuring old and new songs by Belle and Sebastian, Elton John, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Sirens, provides a link. Like Solondz’s other films,

Storytelling succeeds in pushing the envelope, using ironic dialogue and black humour to record the lives of characters who get pushed to the emotional and physical sidelines.

The result is just what the title suggests: a good story about the art of storytelling.