Very rarely do I see a film more than one time in the theaters. It takes a lot to spur me to give my hard earned money to a film more than once. GHOST WORLD so blew me away when I first discovered it that I didn't want it to end and I went back (while laid off from my job) to take two separate groups of friends to see it. It was the best film released in 2001 and remains one of the best films ever made about self-discovery following high school graduation.
Enid (Thora Birch, AMERICAN BEAUTY) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson, MATCH POINT) have just graduated from high school, where they were the resident eccentrics. Rebecca is excited about getting a job and moving out on her own. Enid, on the other hand, seems unwilling to accept her need to become a cog in the "real world." Via a pretty cruel prank, Enid meets Seymour (Steve Buscemi, FARGO), a forty-something manager at the corporate office of a fast food chicken chain, who can't relate to 99% of humanity so he consumes his life with collecting old jazz records and memorabilia. Enid finds a kindred spirit in the cranky old "nerd," who exists outside of the norms of society.
The cast also includes Josh (Brad Renfro, BULLY), a boy Enid's age that she and Rebecca have a secret crush on; Roberta Allsworth (Illeana Douglas, GRACE OF MY HEART), Enid's clueless and pretentious summer school art teacher; Enid's ineffectual father (Bob Balaban, A MIGHTY WIND); Maxine (Teri Garr, TOOTSIE), Enid's father old girlfriend who Enid hates; Dana (Stacey Travis, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY), a real estate agent Seymour begins to date; Norman (Charles C. Stevenson Jr., PLEASANTVILLE), an old man who sits at a cancelled bus spot all day; and Doug (Dave Sheridan, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS), a hick who hangs out at the convenience store where Josh works.
The satire is so dry and cynical that it hurts as it makes you bust a gut. I consistently laugh at this film every time I see it. But it's a subtle comedy that if you're not in on the joke, you may miss the brilliance. Besides the pitch perfect timing of Birch and Buscemi, the humor often comes from the amazingly observed nature of the characters. It goes to show how nuanced the characters are that it's difficult to describe them in a brief way. One word labels or even one-sentence descriptions do not fully convey these characters. They come off as real complex individuals. Humor is also worked into the cracks. Watch the backgrounds for satirical sight gags on the nature of the scene. My favorite may be a woman who walks past in the background when Enid and Rebecca are checking out apartments in a "normal" neighborhood.
Director Terry Zwigoff (BAD SANTA, CRUMB) and Daniel Clowes (who adapted the script from his own comic book) bring a unique point of view to the story. There are few other films that one could compare it to. It has the bite of the blackest satires like THE LOVED ONE or DR. STRANGELOVE, but has the rich characters like coming of age tales such as SAY ANYTHING… The best way of describing the tone would be to call it Onion-like. The droll approach is much like the satire on the fake news site. How they pull off some of the jokes without being too mean-spirited or losing our acceptance of the characters is amazing.
This is a smart film for smart people. It's not for everyone. If you think WILD HOGS is brilliant, you need not apply. You won't get it. But for those searching for smart laughs, this is a film you've been waiting for. Enid's search for herself is bittersweet, which is how life plays out sometimes. If you've felt like you didn't fit in someplace than maybe GHOST WORLD is the place for you. Its view of life through darkly colored glasses is relentless and unforgiving, but it does so with great wit and style. Life isn't easy sometimes, but this film finds a way to laugh at the dark and down parts. We're all part sinner and part saint floating through existence trying to find our own way. This film reminds us that we need to find our own distant way or we'll be lost forever.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
