Ghost World

Rating:
Summary: A view from the outside
Review: This is a lovely ode to those who are disfranchised by being a nonconformist.

This movie is a clear look at the forces that come to bear on those that "stray from the mainstream".

The humour is dry and pithy. Parts of the movie are incredibly cruel and hilarious at the same time.
"du sublime au ridicule il n'y a qu'un pas"

Thora Birch does an wonderful job at carring the audience through a wide range of emotional landscapes.

Scarlett Johansson completes the the set. She anchors near the edge without being swept away.

Notice: This movie includes a fine example of the Americian Mullet.

One thing of note. This movie is a visual pleasure. In an age where blowup sets and CGI are the rule, this movie is a gem of great price.

I am a geek, a dork and I'm 50. This movie touched me.

Rating:
Summary: Give Thora Birch the Best Actress Oscar now!!!
Review: I highly doubt we'll see a better performance this year. This was my most-anticipated movie of the year (i'm a giant fan of the comic) and it didn't disappoint in one single category. a brave, awesome, and hilarious film. I saw it twice in one week, and I haven't seen a movie twice in its opening week since "Pulp Fiction."

Rating:
Summary: Terry Zwigoff's Cinema of Lonely
Review: With the 1994 documentary "Crumb," Terry Zwigoff created a touching, sympathetic portrait of a man on the fringe of intellectual society. With "Ghost World," Zwigoff follows high-school graduate Enid (Thora Birch) to scrutinize the conformity of consumer society, whether in movies and critics, art and teachers, or music and rock bands. Zwigoff's characters clod through a nostalghic, 1950's-garbed world juxtaposed against modern sensibilities, as Enid, amidst teenage angst and empty desires, searches for the man, job, and friends to make her happy. But she is just too cynical and incongruous amongst the real zombies of the film: society and its mindless inhabitants. Steve Buscemi gives a wonderful performance as a pitiful outsider who never dates and obsessively collects old records, and Zwigoff balances hilarious comedy against touching, somber drama with ease. "Ghost World" falters only from its imprudence in getting its point across and by its many disparate ideas that sometimes feel too abstract from the film's underlying theme. Overall, one of the most thought provoking films of 2001.

Rating:
Summary: twice
Review: I read the comic. Once. The drawing was nice and I always intended to pick it up... But I never have. After seeing the movie it was impossible not to notice the huge differences between the movie and the comic. Seymour (the aging 78 collecting fellow) was by far the biggest change.

Anyways, to address a few of the earlier reviews, I too was hugely dissapointed that the Patience and Prudence song "A smile and a Ribbon" isn't on the soundtrack, and as far as I've been able to tell it was issued on 78 only (nut i'm not even 50% positive).

But to address the authenticity of the background characters, eg. the video store clerk who hadn't heard of "8 1/2," I was laughing recalling a time when as a record store clerk, a fellow employee had to ask (in all seriousness) who John Lennon was. Look for the smoking/drinking pregnant girl...

I think the film was far more subtle than it needed to be and in it's subtlety there wasn't a single moment where a lowbrow joke was used in favour of a clever comment or twist (except where it was realistic).

A brilliant adaptation and wonderful film. I haven't enjoyed a film like this in a long long time.

Rating:
Summary: The 1% Club
Review: 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.'

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but left scratching my head.
Review: I am not familiar with the comic strip at all but my boyfriend pushed to see this film. Since I am a huge Steve Buscemi fan I agreed. I crossed my fingers hoping that this was not going to be your ususal teenager coming of age film and in that respect it most certainly was not.

Initially, I was very intrigued by the main caharacter Enid (Thora Birch) who is a typical jaded, cynical teenager who's only motivation is to get the hell out of high school and get on with her life. The only problem is, what to do exactly. Enid is a complicated character who is on the outside of typical high-school society wearing thrift-shop clothing, sketching in her journal and has a penchant for East Indian 60's flims with rock music dance scenes (much like what you find on cable in the wee hours of Sunday mornings). She and her friend constantly observe stranger's foibles and often poke fun at them, even at the expense of the other persons feelings. Enter Steve Buscemi (Seymour).

...Overall the performances were very good as well as the basic story line. I just was left wanting a little bit more.

Rating:
Summary: ZOMBIES
Review: I really wanted to like Terry Zwigoff's "Ghost World." And there is much to appreciate in the performance of Steve Buscemi. But unfortunately there is much to dislike especially the zombie-like performance of Thora Birch who was asked to play the role of Enid after Chritina Ricci turned it down. Birch plays Enid with the same notes that she played her role in "American Beauty." The difference is that in AB she was a supporting player but in this film she is the lead. And a lead role requires variety and shading. By the end of the film Birch's never-ending bank stare is bewildering . On the plus side much of the script is smart and witty. But Don Roos did this sort of thing 100% better in "The Opposite of Sex." And just imagine what Ricci could have done with the role of Enid.

Rating:
Summary: Hugely disappointing
Review: There was no movie scheduled to come out this year I was more looking forward to than "Ghost World". Zwigoff (whose "Crumb" is one of the great films of the nineties), the source material, the stunning reviews -- I was prepared for something masterful. What I saw instead was a movie full of compromise and tonal confusion.

The world of post-adolescent alienation which is so well depicted in Clowes's books is here reduced to cheap shots at tacky cultural cliches (the video-store clerk who's never heard of "8 1/2", the high school art teacher who overlooks true expression in favor of political statement). The "journey" of the lead character Enid (Thora Birch) is narratively awkward and, in fact, fundementally conventional ("maybe it's better to get to know people instead of just making fun of them"). And the story is littered with stale narrative twists (the best friend who's not such a good friend after all, the tortured lover who acts on misinformation). I imagine the problem really lies with the fact that Zwigoff was far more closely identified with the Seymour character than with the Enid character. Seymour is really the one most alienated from society in this movie. His scenes with women feel extremely authentic but horribly uncomfortable. Seymour goes out with an attractive blonde real-estate agent for awhile, but the fact that she doesn't like Laurel and Hardy will always make them a irreconciliable couple. In "Crumb" Zwigoff was able to look at this social misfit character in a way that was at once ironic, indicting and sympathetic. With Seymour, he tries only for sympathy and ends up making everyone involved seem pathetic.

I don't understand why the critics, some of our best critics, are jumping all over this film. It may be the best reviewed film of the year so far. Is it possible that they too identify with Seymour, so much so that they are willing to overlook the dramatic void this movie is? And where is the perfectly executed, Clowes-inspired world the critics have hailed? It feels and looks more like a "after-School special" directed by Seymour himself.

Rating:
Summary: The best comic-to-movie adaptation ever
Review: Just like the movies, comics are an art form. Just like movies, comics run the range from mass-market to high art. Nothing wrong with that; sometimes you're in the mood to see Bruce Willis battle Arnold Schwartzenegger on the screen, or read Batman slugging it out with the Joker. But just as you know there's much more to movies than action films, you should also be aware there's much more to comics than four-color superheroes. There's also a large amount of serious comic book literature out there that doesn't fit that superhero mold. And when the worlds of comics and movie collide, comic fanboys (yes, I'm one) often debate what is the best movie based on a comic book: "Superman: The Movie?" The first "Batman?" "X-Men," or "Blade?" This discussion now must include a movie that features *no* overpumped steroid heroes in spandex. "Ghost World," faithfully adapted from the comic by Daniel Clowes, is not merely one of the more faithful adaptations of a comic to a movie, but also is one of the most effective and affecting movies of 2001.

A funny, sarcastic, sharp slice-of-life, "Ghost World" follows Enid and Rebecca, two girls just graduated from high school. Not quite slackers, not quite ready for the "real" world, they wander through their summer, planning and putting off their future at the same time. Clowes and Zwigoff have a great ear for dialogue: Enid and Rebecca talk like real teenagers do: with sarcasm peppered with raw language mirroring their contempt *and* fascination with the people and places around them. As a fan of the graphic novel I can say it's a faithful adaptation, preserving events, dialogue, and even characters that look (often uncannily) like their graphic novel counterparts--but it doesn't treat its source material as precious and unchangeable; it expands and redirects the storyline of the comic, making it more linear, more unified and full in its examination of Enid's relationship with lonely, jazz-obsessed self-proclaimed dork Seymour. Seymour is quite possible Steve Buscemi's most effective role yet, in my opinion: weird, uncomfortable, but oddly sympathetic, fleshed out from a one-joke note in the graphic novel into a major character for the movie. It's a role worthy of an Oscar supporting actor nomination, and a clear sign to Hollywood that Buscemi *can* play more than just crazed crooks and hair-trigger criminals.

This weekend I also saw the first trailer (a year ahead of the movie) for "Spider-Man." Aside from a clever teaser concept, this trailer shows off everything wrong with Hollywood's perception of making a movie from a comic book: overdone (and not that convincing) special effects, laughable spandex costumes, ear-splittingly loud soundtrack. After this, though, seeing "Ghost World" restored my faith in the possibility of well-done and touching movies based on a serious comic series.

Rating:
Summary: Better than expected...
Review: I really don't write reviews, and really feel slightly odd writing this, but the Ghost World movie was really, really great! I had my doubts when I first heard Thora Birch was cast as Enid Coleslaw, but wow! She really transformed herself for the role. At no point did I ever think she was anyone but Enid; excellent role! Steve Buscemi as Seymour was great and his performance was right up there with his work in Fargo and Living In Oblivion. Film-wise, Terry Zwigoff did an excellent job of creating a real world in this film that is somewhat contemporary, but also a very clear creation based on Dan Clowes world. And Dan Clowes clearly did a great job translating and transfiguring the comic-book to the film. It's not a literal translation of the book, but it's a very good--and organic--in the things that have been changed/retained from the source material. The only thing lingering in my mind is how the non-comic reading public will accept the film. There are some references to Clowes work--like Feldman and Art School Confidential--that only fans can get, but the story seems to hold together well on it's own.