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Movie Notes: Ghost World

July 8th, 2008

Ghost World

starstarstarstar = 4 stars

Starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi
Directed by Terry Zwigoff

Synopsis

Snarky high school graduates Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) find humor in the oddballs and weirdos that surround them, namely record collector Seymour (Steve Buscemi) and wacky art teacher Roberta (Illena Douglas). Based on a graphic novel by Dan Clowes.

The Good

  • Zwigoff does an amazing job capturing Clowes’ mundane, stuck in strip mall suburbia average-town, and many of the cast members look lifted right from the comic pages. The quirky dialog is also retained.
  • Zwigoff and Clowes aren’t afraid to expose the average person’s ugliness and find a tricky balance between mockery and sympathy. The inherent awkwardness of Buscemi, Douglas, Birch, and even Johansson is acknowledged and even celebrated. Buscemi would never be cast as the lead in a mainstream rom-com, but here he gets refreshingly close.
  • Enid finds pleasure in unintentionally stupid things like the diner “Wowsville” that is so lame it’s cool, and admires those who aren’t afraid to be themselves, even if they can’t help themselves. This may seem sarcastic and cynical, but it’s also life-affirming in that it encourages us to just be honest with who we are and resist the pressure to conform.
  • Very neat to see Johansson before questionable flicks like The Island and Scoop, although this film does inspire the question – whatever happened to Thora Birch?
  • There’s a brief scene with a really wacky shirtless dude with a terrible tan and a mullet.

The Bad

  • The romance between Enid and Seymour wasn’t in the graphic novel, and I’m still undecided if this direction was a good choice for this movie.
  • Not too keen on the ending, again, different from the graphic novel.

Conclusion

I’m biased as a fan of Dan Clowes, but I think this movie can appeal to more than just comic book nerds and loser-iconoclasts. Give the trailer a spin and if it makes you chuckle, so will the movie. And can I again voice my desire to see David Lynch direct Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron?

IMDB: Ghost World
Wikipedia: Ghost World
Rotten Tomatoes: Ghost World 92%

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folder Categories: 4 Star Movies, General, Movies :: , , , , ::

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  • I was a comic-nerd but didn't know this movie was based on a graphic novel. It did appeal to me in that weird, quirky way. Since I didn't read the graphic novel, I liked the relationship between Enid and Seymour. It accentuated Enid's personality. The relationship was foreign to her but she yearned for it, only to find it wasn't quite what she wanted. I didn't care for the ending, though.
  • Yeah that's fair, I didn't care for the ending either - you might wanna
    check out the graphic novel, too, it's one of my favorites. I think the
    ending in the film felt a little like a cop out, especially after such
    strong characters were created. I would like to think the ending was
    metaphorical rather than real, but that still doesn't provide any answers.
    Oh well, the rest of the flick is really good.
  • I really wanted to see this movie..but wanted to hear what other people thought about it first..so I think im going to rent it today..thanks for your comments
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