Rating: 
Summary: Ghost World Made Me Go "BOO!!!"
Review: A film adaptation needn't be a carbon-copy of its source material, but it should capture its essence, or why bother? On this count, "Ghost World" is an almost complete failure. The crucial difference between the comic and the movie is that while the comic is deliberately anti-dramatic, the film strains to generate drama and fails. The film's tone goes most markedly awry with the enlargement of the role of Seymour. The attention he steals away from the girls' friendship negates the theme of the original: Enid and Rebecca against the world, then, sadly, not even that. Thora Birch could scarcely be less Enid-like. Even her stabs at cool affectlessness are arch, and Enid would never, ever guffaw at her own jokes. In the comic, Enid is a bundle of insecurities, but still has a convincing way with a put-down. Birch's version couldn't psych out a tub of coleslaw. This uncharismatic actress has been endowed by the Lord Almighty, or a very ambitious plastic surgeon, with physical attributes that effortlessly upstage her in every shot in which they appear. Scarlett Johansson does a much better job capturing the ennui that is the center of Rebecca's relationship with Enid. Why couldn't they have dyed this great young actress' hair black and put Enid in capable hands? The scene that most accurately captures the feel of the Daniel Clowes universe- the Bollywood musical extravaganza that opens the film- is lifted wholesale from someone else's film. There's something very wrong with that.
Rating: 
Summary: kitchy
Review: I really liked this movie. I am a sucker for weirdness, and the characters in this movie are definite w-e-i-r-d. But in a good way! The main character, Enid, graduates from high school (well, almost. She has to take art class over again in summer school) with her best friend, Rebecca, and they need to figure out what they want to do with their post-high school selves. Enid amuses herself by playing a prank on an unassuming stranger, Seymour, and they end up becoming friends. Already distanced from the world around her, Enid begins distancing herself from Rebecca as well as the rest of her friends and family, none of whom she feels a deep emotional connection to. Ghost World is based on the comic of the same name. Thora Birch plays Enid (in a wonderfully out-of-character role for her) and Scarlett Johansson plays Rebecca, the not-your-typical-blonde antisocial best friend. Steve Buscemi does a really great job as the dorky Seymour. You should see this movie for the interaction between the cast, if nothing else.
Rating:
Summary: GOD
Review: What a beautiful film.Viewing it is satisfying, and just delicious.But once you view it, I swear it leave an impact on you forever.Just a perfect film-all the way through.The first time I saw it, I watched halfway through, and decided that it was overhyped, then a year later, I decided to give it another shot, just to see if maybe there was some chance that all the hype was true.God, after really seeing this movie,I can say that what "hype" it got was nothing at all.This movie deserved so much more.Steve Buscemi gives an oscar caliber performance.Brilliant from the very first word he utters, and heartwrenching all to the biter end.My God, what a brilliant actor.Thora Birch is the perfect heroine.She gives you no reason to love her, or even like her.But her humanity, end up winning you over in the end.Scarlett Johansson is such an interesting and captivating character.The script was perfect-without trying too hard.This is the kind of movie that rips your soul up inside, without letting you shed a single tear.I'm afraid that most teens will be too embarassed to truly understand this movie.But, if you're willing to sit down and watch a movie which hits home, then I swear this is what you need.Perfect music.Just a stunning film.
Rating:
Summary: GHOST WORLD IS BY FAR MY FAV MOVIE.. ...you'll love it
Review: This movie is awesome! Thora Birch is great in it, her sarcasim and way of thinking in this movie is so great! She has her own opinions and lets people know them. I personally see myself in ENID and what she goes through after graduating high school. I love this movie and own it, I'd recomend it to anyone that can appreate a good laugh.
Rating:
Summary: My Fave
Review: This movie has got way halarious parts! I loved it because it seems a lot like me and my best friend, and a lot of the things in the movie and here where I live are halariously similar, this is one of my favorite movies!
Rating:
Summary: Every Cynic is a Frustrated Idealist
Review: "Ghost World" wins my award for best movie of the past ten years. The key to a great movie is that it's its own world -- a self-contained universe. "Bringing Up Baby" is one such example, so is "Vertigo" and "For a Few Dollars More." Any of Billy Wilder's movies, too. This one was one of them. I love Enid (played by Thora Birch, whose character is much more three-dimensional than the girl she played in "American Beauty."). A teenage H.L. Mencken, Enid skewers pretentious poseurs and tips over sacred cows. But, underneath her outer punk persona, there is a soft-hearted hero-worshipper. Her predicament is that she's stranded on a social desert island and uses cynicism as a shield to protect her from the hopeless banality in which heroes and passion are deemed passe by people who walk through life questioning nothing, but just parroting the answers they've picked up from the larger society. "Ghost World" abounds in social commentary, but doesn't fall into the schmaltzy trap of trying to "solve" the world's social ills. Although on the surface Enid is directionless, she nonetheless has a mania for sketching a diary of the oddballs and weirdos that make up her small town. An excellent artist and charicaturist, Enid ends up failing art class TWICE. Her airheaded hippy/burnout art teacher, Roberta (Illeana Douglas), is a walking cliche of a total conformist affecting an air of anti-authoritarianism. She blows off Enid's diary and her cartoons of Don Knotts, but pushes her students to instead produce so-called "controversial" art. A really dead-on scene is when one of Roberta's sycophantic students creates a sculpture out of coathangers, which represents "a woman's right to choose, something I feel super-strongly about." It's a gem of a parody on political art in which the politics are much stronger than the art. I was rolling on the floor when Roberta's real bad college art film "Mirror/Father/Mirror" clip was playing. Wow, that rings true. Roberta doesn't encourage the artistic impulse so much as pushing her agenda on the students to be "controversial" and "confront people's attitudes." So, Enid decides to spoof Roberta and bring in a "found object" of a Jim Crow charicature from the 1920s of "Coon's Chicken," which depicts a monkey-like negro. This angers the other students (who were sotto voce receiving the message that they should only confront people with PC controversy), but the irony is in how Roberta reacts to the Jim Crow poster; Enid can't get the time of day from her when it comes to her own talented artwork, but her jokes on Roberta's inanities wins Roberta over to her cause and even inspires Roberta to get Enid a scholarship to art college. All this falls apart when Roberta enters the piece in an exhibit, and the local censors force her to remove the poster and fail Enid in her class. Her capitulation reveals her devotion to "controversy" and "confrontation" to be a hollow pose, and she covers her rear by letting Enid be the lamb to the slaughter. The relationship between Enid and Seymour (Steve Buscemi) evinces Enid's yearnings to find someone to look up to, rather than down upon. I liked Steve Buscemi a lot. I'm so used to him playing funny roles, that it was sort of incongruous seeing him play it (mostly) straight in a comedic movie, but it worked quite well. Like Enid, Seymour is a middle-aged outcast, and at first becomes the victim to one of Enid's and her best friend Rebecca's (Scarlett Johansson) cruel pranks. But underneath the nerdish and pitiful exterior, Enid comes to discover in Seymour someone as isolated and alientated from society as she is. She finds in him a noble soul, whose passions are worn less on his sleeve than Enid's are, but locked up in his 1920s-themed room dedicated to his 78 rpm blues and ragtime records and poster art from the same era. Enid sees in Seymour a lot of herself, but also someone who has been run over once too many times in life and whose social rebellions have shrivelled into repressed loneliness. Enid finds in Seymour a hero, and gushes "I'd kill for a room like this" when complimenting his passion for nostalgia. To which Seymour -- who has given up on the possibility of ever fitting in or finding love -- replies "go ahead, kill me." By the movie's end, Seymour starts asserting his inwardly pent-up feelings to relate to the world through his romance with Enid. .... As I recall, this movie was nomimated for only one Oscar (best adapted screenplay) by the Academy of Motion Pictures "Arts and Sciences." And yet, this was the best movie in a year barren of talent, originality and true cinematic art. Now I understand why this movie is called "Ghost World." The DVD version is better, because it is widescreen, however the transfer is clean on the VHS.
Rating:
Summary: Let it grow on you
Review: From a teenager's perspective - being in the midst of everything Enid hates - Ghost World didn't really make sense to me at first. Its blatancy annoyed me, but I found myself returning to watch the movie over and over again because underneath the anti-social humor, there is an undeniable truth. After viewing it five times, I understand why Ghost World is so magnificent. This is a movie stripped of any false emotions. It may be frustrating since all the characters are so damn intelligent, but that's the beauty of it. I love this movie because it presents brilliant, lovable loners, and you can't help but misunnderstand them at first, but the more you watch this movie and the more you are willing to understand the quirky characters, you will finally realize that people like Enid are the few precious gems we have left in this corrupted society.
Rating:
Summary: Where to Begin
Review: I read all the five star reviews that have been posted; we should all start a club! I'm 34 and I was completely and unexpectedly devastated by this film, perhaps my favorite coming of age picture since The Graduate. I was floored, watched it twice; i didn't laugh much, although it is certainly a very funny movie in spots. Despite a slightly heightened reality, the tone is just so honest and it's full of touching moments throughout and i had to fight back tears in the last half hour. So rich and right. So many themes about friendships and where society is going and fitting in, loss and trying to be yourself. It's like those rare moments when reading a short story or novel and feeling so at home with the setting and characters, even if it's unpleasant at times. I found the ending very sad and perfect. It is ambiguous, but if you've been paying attention to this movie and relate to what's taking place with the characters and the world around them, you should be shaken and inspired by it. There's nowhere to really go, no place to really escape to unfortunately, if you're a sensitive or "out of step" person in this world; But it's sometimes important that you go out and take a risk, try to find someone who understands. Ultimately all we have is ourselves though and that can be a crushing realization. Seeing this movie twice in twenty-four hours (and I may not ever watch it again) did not make me want to escape the world I inhabit, but to navigate it with some kind of grace and sense of humor. I don't know where to start except with what's in front of me.
Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: Its unlike any movie you will ever see, its truely original. If you're tired of watching the same movies over and over and you just want arefreshing break try this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Low key but extremely effective indie film
Review: Directed by Terry Zwigoff (CRUMB) and scripted by Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes from the latter's comic book.
It is the early 80s, and punk rock has been replaced by new wave. Wannabe punk Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johnansen) are a pair of misfit best friends who reply to a personal ad as a prank. The victim turns out to be an eccentric loner named Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a guy who according to Enid is "such a dork, he's almost kind of cool". But when Enid and Rebecca start to drift apart after graduating high school, Enid ends up befriending Seymour; who lives for his LP collection and she soon finds in him a kindred spirit. Enid discovers she needs Seymour a lot more than she ever thought.
GHOST WORLD features a rather simple story (A basic but effective subplot involves Enid's interaction with an elderly man who is each day waiting for a bus which never seems to arrive) but one that is real and affecting. Both leads are great; especially Buscemi in what is for me his best role since RESERVOIR DOGS. GHOST WORLD is one movie you must see this year. One of Robert Crumb's drawings also appears in the film.
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