Ghost World | | Cast : | Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi | | Director : | Terry Zwigoff | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 01, 2001 | | DVD Released Date : | May 04, 2004 | | Language : | Unknown (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 06, 2005 | | Summary | Quirky brilliance with a most unexpected depth | Content
 | I went in to Ghost World expecting an oddball comedy, so I was surprised by the nuance, depth, and emotional complexity of this film. There are some funny moments, certainly, but the whole movie is just too deep, dark, and meaningful to be dismissed as mere comedy. Your reaction to the film may well depend on what kind of person you are - or were back in school. If you were cool and ran with the in crowd, you'll probably laugh - condescendingly, of course - at the losers who make up the main characters of the story. If you were an oddball and have drunk deeply from the waters of alienation, however, you will feel a real kinship with these characters. The only bad thing about this film is the fact that there isn't enough of Scarlett Johansson in it. It's really all about the character of Enid (Thora Birch), an incredibly complex character who wears alienation like a crown and tries to avoid total decimation at the hands of a cruel, mixed-up life. We start out with Enid and her friend Rebecca (Johansson), but - for obvious reasons - Rebecca has a lifeline to normalcy and makes a much better transition to post-high school existence than her friend. The fact that her partner is crime begins to grow apart from her only makes Enid's journey all the more difficult to navigate - and there is much to fuel her contempt for the world.
The plan is for Enid and Rebecca to gets jobs and rent an apartment together, playing pranks and generally complaining about how fake and stupid everyone else is in their spare time. After Rebecca starts working, though, you can start to see that her heart's just not in their long-held plans, while Enid just sort of sleepwalks through each day with no purpose whatsoever - apart from attending the remedial art class she has to take during the summer. She does find a project for herself, though - one extremely weird fellow named Seymour (Steve Buscemi). Of course, it begins with her setting the hapless Seymour up on a fake blind date and watching him suffer through the internal agony of being stood up. She follows him, though, and the two strike up an unusual friendship. Seymour is a great collector of classic jazz and blues records and an odd assortment of other things, and he basically lives in that forgotten world he has recreated for himself. Enid sets out to find Seymour a girlfriend - which is quite a project indeed, as Seymour is almost hopelessly undesirable in the eyes of the world (or at least the 99% of it that Enid hates so much).
Then Enid's world starts closing in on her in all sorts of ways. Always alienated, she now begins to feel completely alone, and she basically keeps sabotaging her chances of reversing course (which is an unfortunate habit most of us weirdoes seem to have). Every day brings bad news on some front. By this point, the comedy is basically over and done with, and the final third of the film comes across as a nuanced, poignant look at this poor soul who truly doesn't know what she is going to do with the rest of her life - or even tomorrow, for that matter.
I could say more, but this is really one of those films that you can't really explain. There's no real sense of closure when the movie ends, but that is indicative of life itself - and that is really what Ghost World is all about. Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi give inspired performances that will stay with you, Scarlett Johansson is marvelous, and some oddball characters (such as Numchuck Guy) round the film out quite well. It's quirky, but quirky is almost always good. I'm not sure how older people will react to this sort of film, but the younger generation will see much of themselves somewhere in this weird story, making Ghost World one of the most impressive coming-of-age movies of the new millennium. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 31, 2005 | | Summary | When Unpopular Sarcastic Girls Attack | Content
| Ghost World is a very comical, very dark look at American society through the eyes of two teenage misfits. Recent high school graduates Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) are two girls who are outsiders, and that's how they like it. They can't stand America's obsession with pop-culture, non-conformism, and retro styles. They try to seperate themselves any way that they can. They like to play cruel pranks on people they don't like or tell people awful things, true or false. They hassle a boy (Brad Renfro) who works at a convenience store, they make fun of the valedictorian (Rini Bell), who is in a wheel chair and neck brace due to an accident involving alcohol, and they show up at Wowsville, a 50's nostalgia cafe that plays rap and techno music, just so they can mock the establishment to the waiters. Neither of them are virgins, but I think that they were only messing with the guys that had sex with them (it's never directly stated, but I came to that conclusion myself, especially since their personalities would drive most guys away). While most of the people/things that they attack deserve criticim (the valedictorian states in her speech that she no longer needs drugs, she is later seen drinking from a flask, and Wowsville is a poor excuse for a 50's diner), they still focus their time and energy on these things. They even buy food at Wowsville, thus supporting the very thing they make fun of. It seems as if even they can't seem to completely detatch themselves from the things they claim to hate so much.
Neither of them plan on going to college, probably because it's what "everyone" is doing. Instead, they try to find jobs so that they can move in together. However, while Rebecca gets a job at a coffee shop (not Starbucks, but the same kind of place) and begins to grow up out of her high school persona, Enid is unable to either hold a job or outgrow her old, sarcastic self (which is part of the reason she can't hold onto a job). She is perfectly happy going through life, criticizing the people and things she finds to be stupid (which is nearly everyone and everything). Then she meets Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a middle-aged record collector who turns out to be a target of one of her pranks. Even though she looks down on him, thinking he's a loser, she can't help but become somewhat attracted to him, both mentally and physically. As she later states, "He's the opposite of everything I hate".
Ghost World follows Enid, Rebecca, and Seymour over the course of the summer following their graduation. Enid must attend a summer school art class (she failed during the year, and probably because even though she is a great artist, she doesn't conform to the teacher's nonconformist ways, if that makes sense). Rebecca searches for apartments, while Enid shoots down her every suggestion, and the two best friends begin to pull apart. Enid also spends a lot of time with Seymour, trying to get him to go on dates, but secretly hoping that he will ask her out.
Not everyone will understand this movie. Some people who do may find it to be too dark, or depressing, or pessimistic. Personally, I found it to be hilarious and somewhat poignant, which is strange, seeing as how I am probably a likely target for one of their pranks. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 20, 2005 | | Summary | "Some people are ok, mostly I just feel like poisoning everybody" | Content
| 'Ghost World' is a hilarious film about two high school graduates on their summer vacation. Both of them are outcasts who enjoy making fun of the rest of society. One day a bored Enid and Rebecca decide to play a prank by responding to a love connections ad placed in the paper by a lonely 40 something year-old man. They leave a fake message on his machine pretending to be the woman he is searching for in the ad, telling him to meet them at a restaurant. There they wait for him and watch him, pathetically feeling sorry for him. When he leaves they follow him to his apartment. A few days later they meet him again at his garage sale. Enid borrows one of his old blues records and starts to develop a friendship with him. From there everything goes down in a whirlwind. Seymour (the 40 year-old man) and Enid develop an odd relationship that sort of surprises the viewer and the movie ends without anything resolving or coming to a solution. 'Ghost World' is pretty funny yet at the same time manages to be realistic. I think any young person can relate to it if they've ever felt like they have no idea where they are going in their life. Highly recommended. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 07, 2005 | | Summary | Superb and Very Wry Comic Book Adaptation | Content
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Ghost World, adapted from Daniel Clowes' superb graphic novel by Crumb director Terry Zwigoff, is an absolute gem of a movie.
The script is packed with dust-dry humour, and some crackingly quotable lines delivered with panache and almost implausible cool by leads Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson in this surprisingly honest and very humorous story of growing up the difficult way.
Best friends Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) have just left high-school, and have plans to rent a place together. But Enid has problems motivating herself to find a job - and the girls spend much of their summer following people around.
Then Enid befriends local record-collecting geek Seymour (Steve Buscemi, excellent as ever.) and the girls' relationship begins to crack. Rebecca is simply better at fitting in, at moving on from school than Enid, who is kind of lost in this peculiar gap between adulthood and teenagerdom.
The performances are superb - particularly Birch as Enid, totally lost but too damnably hip to let on - and the script and direction are perfect. Zwigoff had particularly strong material (Clowes's graphic novel) to work from but has done a sterling job of translating it for the screen.
There are some beautiful touches and memorable scenes: local odd-ball Norman waits for a bus that will never come because they changed the bus route two years ago; the hilarious graduation speeches; Enid and Seymour going to a sex shop where Enid blurts out rather too loudly for comfort exactly what she thinks of the clientele in there...
This is crammed with quality scenes. And while remaining entirely honest it never dips into melodrama even when the full extent of Enid's ennui becomes clear.
There is something in this movie for everyone who ever felt they "couldn't relate to ninety-nine per cent of humanity" (to quote Seymour) to relate to, some great jokes, and a nice comic book feel to the cinematography.
In short, something of a minor masterpiece.
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| Rating | | | Date | June 14, 2005 | | Summary | Simply Brilliant | Content
| "Ghost World" is one of those rare, perfect movies that i can watch over again every weekend and still laugh at all of the jokes. It is a story about two girls who have just graduated high school, Rebecca (pessimistic) and Enid (very pessimistic). I could totally relate to their idea of making fun of everything for how awful and absurd life was. Both refuse to go to college and hated high school. It all seemed to make sense. Thora Birch is simply excellent in the role, as is the always great scarlett johanssen. The script is hilarious and is easily understandable for anyone who has felt trapped by the outside world. It is the last great movie to come out of theaters, as it ranks right up there with office space. A perfect jem. 100 stars! |
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