Ghost World is cynical, sarcastic, clever, dark, and absolutely fantastic. It's heartbreaking and hilarious, often at the same time. Though you could never call it "heart-warming" -- and thank god for that! -- I walked out of the theater dancing and singing because I was so damn happy I'd seen it. It is my mission to get everyone I know to see it. It feels a lot like Election or The Opposite of Sex -- not that they deal with the same themes, but it's got the same viciously dark humor and exhilarating energy.
Based on an underground comic book (you can see examples of the panels and covers at the website), Ghost World follows Enid (Thora Birch), newly graduated from high school, aggressively unconventional, and smugly superior about nearly everyone except her best friend, Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson). Enid and Rebecca got each other through high school and now plan to get jobs and live together instead of going to college like everybody else. Only Enid can't seem to get moving on the plan. Instead, she keeps living with her meek father (Bob Balaban), who is clearly befuddled by his oddball daughter, and befriends Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a geeky loner who obsessively collects records.
The theme of a sanitized, processed, corporate society flows throughout. Corporate logos abound, but it's not your typical movie product placement. Enid's unease about moving in with Rebecca crystallizes as they shop for furnishings in Crate and Barrel. Rebecca herself goes to work in a Starbucks clone, whereas Enid flounders at a chain cineplex (those of you who have had conversations with me about Cineplex Odeon's mandatory policy of asking if you want to upsize your drink or popcorn will have a good laugh here). The video clerk who doesn't know Fellini from Mickey Rourke is, natch, in a Blockbuster-type store.
Enid herself is defiantly anti-corporate, anti-conformity, anti-faux anything. I kept thinking that she'll grow up to be Janeane Garofalo. But the smart-ass alienation that made her feel superior to the sheep in high school starts to seem isolating and lonely as Rebecca drifts off her path, and she begins to see how comforting it could be to just fit in. I won't go further than that, other to say that the ending felt perfect.
The cast is all-around excellent. Thora Birch expands on her disaffected daughter role from American Beauty with biting wit that barely covers her melancholy. Scarlett Johansson looks only slightly less like a Hanson than she did in The Horse Whisperer, but her acting is much better (and she's got a nifty little eyebrow-lifting move that I loved). The two play off each other very well. Likewise, the chemistry between Birch and Steve Buscemi is great. He's perfect as the archetypal collector geek, but unlike many of this ilk, he's very clear-eyed about his situation, which makes it all the more painful. Bit parts provide brief joys -- Teri Garr has a fun cameo as Enid's father's insufferable girlfriend, and Illeana Douglas is, as usual, terrific as a flaky art teacher. And Dave Sheridan steals every scene he's in as Doug, a redneck -- complete with mullet, acid-washed jeans, and literal red neck -- who haunts the local convenience store. I advise you to go to the website and click on "cast" -- he's in the second set of cast photos. Click on him to see more pictures. That alone will convince many of you to go to the movie.
Ghost World is the first feature film by Terry Zwigoff, who directed the documentary Crumb. It's got a couple of the flamboyant grotesques you would expect to see from an aficionado of R. Crumb, but not so many that their use becomes annoying or a crutch to get a laugh.
I adored this movie. Part of it is personal, I'm sure --
I identified
closely with Enid, despite not being one tenth as cool as she, and I
loved
her -- but part of it is simply that it's a fabulous movie. It's
smart, well written, honest, engaging, and very funny. It's also
got a terrific soundtrack. GO SEE THIS MOVIE.
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