This movie starts off with a lie, and ends very unsatisfactorily, but still I really liked this film, and am very glad that I saw it.

Like so many really great independent films, like “Tao of Steve” & “The Opposite of Sex”, “Ghost World” does not have a very detailed story, but instead hits notes of genius with its observational humor. These characters aren’t in themselves funny, and don’t really even try to make jokes, but usually it is their outlook on the world which makes this film so funny. It is funny, but an uncomfortable funny, since you are often laughing at pain, real pain, and this makes it perhaps a black comedy, but I think it is actually much more.

Do you like Indian dance music from the 1960’s? Well, this movie does. The film starts off giving us the wrong impression of the lead. As we pass by several apartments with people watching TV like Zombies, the camera stops in the room of Enid, the star of the film, dancing around her room to Indian 60's dance music. She seems alive, and excited to be so. She won't really seem this way again for the rest of the film.

There is a lot of stuff to like in the film, which is unusual, since the lead really isn't a nice person. As a matter of fact she is almost as bad as Christina Ricci’s character in “The Opposite of Sex”, but nowhere as self-centered or devious. Actually it is hard to watch this film without thinking of Ricci because Thora Birch looks a little like her in the film, and is almost acting like the kind of character that Ricci has played several times. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ricci was offered the role first, but wisely turned it down. If she had taken it, she would probably be accused of just playing the same character in another film.

Enid seems to spend a lot of her time standing back and casting negative judgements at those who fit into society. She isn’t quite as passive as Holden in “Catcher in the Rye”, though. She likes to stir up things, and has a minor nasty streak. She seems to like to embarrass those who are easy pickings. The film isn’t really a satire since the characters aren’t really dissecting the problems of society so much as just revolting against anything in their path.

A lot of the movie is about Enid and her best friend slowly travelling through life in the summer after their high school graduation. These are the kinds of people who like to attract attention, but act like they hate society. They really want to be liked by all, but instead act like they don't want anyone to even notice them. Enid especially seems to have a mean streak. If I knew her in person, I would probably get the feeling that she prefers people to think that she is quite nasty. She probably hates herself to a large degree.

Enid’s friend, Rebecca, is played by Scarlett Johansson, who in a short career has been in a number of quality movies. Her character is prettier than Enid, dresses a little more normal, and seems poised to become a part of the ‘normal’ crowd. And she knows this. Enid is reminded how much she doesn’t fit into society the more she watches her friend become more a part of it. I can only imagine that these characters three years earlier would have been far more identical.

As a side note, shortly after seeing the film, I saw some images of the comic book in a Premiere magazine, and I noticed that whereas Scarlett Johansson is very pretty in real life, her character Rebecca in the comic book doesn’t look any prettier than Enid.

Steve Buscemi seldom disappoints, and here he plays a nerd just right. He is one of those people who is aware that he is different, and reluctantly accepts it. After a bad night out at a blues club, he says “This is why I haven't been out in so long. I don't like what 99.9% of people out there like.” I really liked that line. Later he strangely comments that even he doesn’t like his interests that much. He is actually very smart about people and relationships, and I would like to think has a good chance for being more social if he was given the opportunity.

I think this is Steve Buscemi’s first lead role since the barely seen 1993 film “Ed and His Dead Mother”. I think this may be his first on screen kiss, love scene, sex scene, or even date scene. He does an excellent job of falling for someone who is probably supposed to be 30 years his junior in the film. He is bothered by her at first, but seems to like her because he wants to spend time with a woman, or someone of either gender who enjoys his company. However, we groan with the knowing disappointment that is sure to follow when later in the film he turns away an older woman who truly likes him but doesn’t share in any of his tastes in order to pursue Enid. This is a tricky thing to do with believability, but Buscemi manages it.

As another side note, Buscemi's character doesn't exist in the source comic books, and was created by both the director and writer Clowes. They also decided to make him a 78 rpm music collector so that they didn't have to put a dozen pop songs onto the soundtrack

Illeana Douglas has a small, but substantial, role as an art teacher for a summer school class than Enid has to take. Her character is absolutely hysterical in the way that she tries to find ‘art’ in works that clearly aren’t meant to show any. A student paints a picture of a mean looking character from a video game he loves. Douglas seems bothered that the character wasn’t meant to represent his father. I particularly loved her ‘biographical’ film that she shows to her class on the first day.

Something I’ve realized while writing this that is very important to why I like this film so much, is that the leads are all smart characters. They are aware of themselves, and their place in the social order of life. Few movies have characters that are this self aware, and I think the movie should be praised for it.

There are also several minor characters in the film. Most of them are actually very weird people whom you would probably never meet in real life. These characters keep popping in and out, and somehow we can tell a lot about them without much being said or done.

As real as the major characters feel, I know that real people like this would be a rare find. The teenagers in this film seem a little more mature than I think is true. The leads use a lot of foul language and definitely have slightly slutty personalities. I imagine in the comic book source material, these woman are even sluttier. Pay close attention to Enid’s behavior when she gets to visit an adult book store. Or the way the friends casually remark about a dress she has up for sale that it was the dress she was wearing when she lost her virginity.

The film is directed by Terry Swigoff, who has only previously directed the excellent documentary "Crumb", and one other documentary not seen by me. This film doesn’t have any sort of real documentary feel, but it is clear that he knows how to focus on characters rather than the script. While “Crumb” was about a famous comic book artist, this film is based upon a series of comic books also called "Ghost World" written by Daniel Clowes. Both the works of “Crumb” and “Ghost World” are similarly twisted, but are very different.

The direction is good, although not great. There are some good shots that are pretty funny. Before a sex scene, the camera pans down to a toy rocking horse. There is one hysterical moment when Enid, in a sex shop, is asking someone to buy her something that we can’t see what it is. The next shot is of her friend behind the counter of a Starbucks looking in shock. When the camera changes angles we see that she is looking at Enid wearing what I could best describe as a rubber ‘Catwoman’ mask with her glasses over it. Somehow it is the glasses that really make this look so funny.

If you think about it after about an hour of the way in, I'm sure you cannot possibly imagine how this film could end in any conventional way. It really doesn’t end by wrapping everything up. It doesn’t even give me an idea of what will happen to the characters next. I’m still not sure what I thought of the ending. The film truly does end in a completely confusing manner to me. I just didn't get it. But I haven’t stopped thinking about it either, and that is definitely a compliment.


Two Notes I want to end with:
1) I really wanted that snake and mongoose piece of artwork
2) If you stay through the credits, you will see a scene of inspired improv.


Review originally written September 21, 2001.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older