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| The skirted teenage girl protagonists stand opinionated and firmly placed in a vacuum on this smart and funny poster for Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World |
Enid and Rebecca are best friends. Done with high school and seemingly ready to move in together to embark on adult life, Enid begins a relationship with a much older record collector named Seymour, which brings her to doubt herself, the world and her future tremendously.
Ghost World is written by Daniel Clowes (Art School Confidential (2006)), based on his same-titled 1997 graphic novel, and Wisconsinite master filmmaker, co-writer/director Terry Zwigoff (Louie Bluie (1985, documentary)), whose fiction debut it is.
It is a film that will fool some to rate it under its value due to its surface look of being a 'small' film, (which is a questionable summation of any film generally.) In terms of scale it is a small movie but not in terms of themes or achievements, and as importantly there simply is not a fault to put one's finger on in Ghost World.
Thora Birch (The Competition (2018)) as the evolving Enid; Scarlett Johansson (The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)) as her voice of reason friend Rebecca, and Steve Buscemi (Mr. Deeds (2002)) as the hilariously funny dejected Seymour are all fantastic.
The music (score by David Kitay (Smiley Face (2007))) and acerbic, poignant descriptions of modern US society in the film help its unique effect of smarting while making one laugh. The cinematography (by Affonso Beato (Treason (1998))) and costumes are very 1990s/independent/Americana. Ghost World is an unequaled gem.
Related posts:
Terry Zwigoff: Art School Confidential (2006) or, World of Phoney
Bad Santa (2003) - Zwigoff sticks dynamite under Christmas in this modern dark comedy classic
Crumb (1994, documentary) or, The Artist As a Cartoonist
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 7 mil. $
Box office: 8.7 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.24 times its cost)
[Ghost World premiered 16 June (Seattle International Film Festival) and runs 112 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, from March - May 2000. The film opened #30 to a 98k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #20 and in 128 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 6.2 mil. $ (71.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 587k $ (6.7 %) and France with 357k $ (4.1 %). The film was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, lost to Akiva Goldsman for A Beautiful Mind. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, 2 AFI awards, won 2/3 Independent Spirit award nominations and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Zwigoff returned with Bad Santa (2003). Birch returned in 5 TV and video credits prior to her theatrical return in Silver City (2004); Johansson in An American Rhapsody (2001); Buscemi with a voice performance in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) and physically in The Grey Zone (2001). Ghost World is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.83/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Ghost World?
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