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(More customer reviews)This movie has two potential audiences.
1. Seymour's 99%, i.e., that segment of the population which he (or I) can't relate to at all. People lacking any modicum of self-awareness, whose lives are spent in the mall or in front of the TV watching prime time network television. People whose record collection may include the complete works of Ashford & Simpson, and whose car radio is tuned to any cloying morning Zoo program. People in this group may enjoy 'Ghost World' to a degree. They will find Enid's green hair and Rebecca's cynical attitude amusing. They will laugh at Seymour's bland wardrobe and jagged brown teeth. And when the movie's over, they will leave the theatre quietly, walk to their SUVs, and head home to their quiet suburban existence.
But really, this movie is not for them.
2. It's really for Seymour's 1%, i.e., that segment of the population distressed by conformity, obsessed by weirdness, and repressed because of it. These are the people who surround themselves with massive record collections, or H.R. Pufnstuf dolls, or Bollywood videos, in an effort to beat a different path. They are lonely, frustrated, and on the verge of giving up any hope at a social life, in favour of a hermetic existence. These are the people that will be able to relate to 'Ghost World's startling menagerie of misfits. And feel tremendous sadness for themselves as well.
Terry Zwigoff mines much of the same material here that he did with his documentary 'Crumb', save for the emphasis on ill mental health. It's an amazing turn for a man previously known only as a documentarian. I suppose that's why the reality of the characters' surrounding is so real. Each scene is populated with mile and miles of personable knick-knacks and bland consumer products. Seymour and Enid's rooms perfectly reflect their personalities. The screenplay, conceived with 'Ghost World' originator Daniel Clowes, manages to tackle the banality of suburban life, and the oppression of consumer culture with just the right amount of bite and bile. Their collective sense of humour is put on display right away, by showing a high school valedictorian confined to a wheelchair and a monstrous neck brace, in a scene played for laughs. If you don't giggle at the hypocrisy of this moment (her old intoxicated ways gave her a 'spiritual perspective on life' while it was robbing her of the use of her legs), then I recommend avoiding the film altogether.
Another reason to avoid the film is if you are squeamish at the idea of a 40+-year-old man and an 18-year-old girl having a relationship. One of 'Ghost World' most powerful points is in Enid and Seymour's friendship. These are two kindred spirits, oddballs to the rest of the world, who've found each other and cherish each other's oddness. Sure, chronologically one may be twice the age of the other, but Enid and Seymour have so much in common that it would be a shame to keep them apart just for that.
Thora Birch, playing a similar character here as in 'American Beauty', is asked to carry the movie, and boy does she. Even while showing Enid's enormous extroverted ego, you always get a sense that she is as fragile and scared on the inside as the weirdoes she torments. And Birch exudes an odd strength (both physical and emotional) that allows Enid to get away with more than she really deserves. Enid's relationship with Rebecca, played by Scarlett Johansson, is confusing at first. These girls seem to be so much at odds with each other. There are some tangible hints at malice bubbling beneath the surface. Silly me. They're supposed to be there. Enid and Rebecca may or may not be nearing the end of their friendship, for adulthood is looming and it's time to grow up. Rebecca (Johansson does fine work, content with being subdued and allowing Birch to steal the show) wants to move out and get a real job; Enid is still obsessed with punk rock.
Seymour is an inspired creation. He's in the paradoxical position of desperately wanting female companionship, while simultaneously despising nearly every person he meets. His passions rule him, bubbling up at the inappropriate times (like when he tries to pick up a woman in a bar, only to find himself yammering on about the difference between Ragtime blues and conventional blues' 12-bar structure; his prospective score wears an expression of utter confusion). Steve Buscemi -- the most recognizable face in the cast -- manages to disappear into Seymour's everyman/loser persona seamlessly. Buscemi's Seymour hates his life immensely, but never becomes whiny or unpleasant. He just goes about his business, allowing his undercurrent of anger to seethe gently to the surface in rare moments (e.g. Enid: 'I'd kill for a collection like this!' Seymour: 'Go ahead and kill me.').
'Ghost World' isn't for everyone. But it should be. It gives a window into the world of the disenchanted, those of us who walk the streets and feel ill at the sights of the conformist and soulless masses. So maybe there is, after all, a third potential audience for the film. Those who pay good money for tickets, and walk out of the theatre befuddled at what they just saw, unable to relate to the wonderful characters on screen. Which in an odd way reminds me of the old poker axiom:
'If you sit down at the table, and you can't spot the sucker, it's probably you.'
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Ghost World (2001)Thora Birch (American Beauty) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) "sneak into your heart and stay there" (Rolling Stone) in this "eerie, masterful movie" (Movieline) from the acclaimed director of Crumb. Co-starring Brad Renfro (Deuces Wild), Illeana Douglas (Stir of Echos) and Steve Buscemi (Fargo) in "the best role of his career" (Movieline), Ghost World is a "smartly strange comedy [that] stands out like the Taj Mahal" (Time)!While their classmates head for college, Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) focus their energies on tormenting those around them - from a goofy convenience store clerk (Renfro) to an eccentric art teacher (Douglas). But when they zero in on an oddball loner (Buscemi) looking for Miss Right, their seemingly innocent meddling threatens to shatter one of their hearts not to mention their lifelong friendship.
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