Ghost World Review
by John Sylva (DeWyNGaLe AT aol DOT com)August 5th, 2002
GHOST WORLD (2001)
Reviewed by John Sylva
"We graduated high school. How totally amazing," muses the deadpan Enid (Thora Birch), thereby setting the tone for Terry Zwigoff's even more sardonic Ghost World, what may be the perfect companion piece to MTV's ingenious Daria. The film's based on a graphic novel by Daniel Clowes (who co-wrote the screenplay with Zwigoff) and it shows, too: colorful, scenic, and rendered to a T, this sharp comedy features sets that seem illustrations, costume designs too audacious for anything you might find on someone taking a stroll around the block, dialogue and delivery so precise the handwritten text in bubbles protruding from characters' lips is nearly tactile. But what Ghost World doesn't have that so many comic book adaptations are plagued by is a lack of aspiration outside of developing the original medium into one that merely enhances it; in fact, if Zwigoff simply used the original drawings of the novel in order to create an animated feature, the finished product would be almost identical to this.
The question on Ghost World's mind is one we all ask ourselves on a daily basis: What next? Wake up; take a shower; eat breakfast--actions such as these, small as they are, are executed with a plan, a mental post-it note that determines where the next step lies. Yet there are those among us, ghosts if you will, who much prefer to linger, such as this Enid, who considers "losers" to be "her people." While the recent high school graduate is far from what she considers herself and her friends to be, it's difficult to deem her a winner either, as the extent of her post-school objective reaches as far as, well, nowhere. Still though, her quick wit and carefree spirit make her an appealing character to watch; it's just that, she, like the aforementioned Daria, finds herself in serious questioning of the ambition toward the American dream that seems to be forced on her by everyone from her removed dad (Bob Balaban) to her lifetime best friend Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson).
So when Enid meets Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a 40-ish, uptight record collector, you cheer her on for finding another individual who holds the same lack of drive as she. The circumstances of their meeting are proof enough of their feebleness: In a cruel joke, Enid and Rebecca answer a personals ad Seymour placed regarding his looking for a long lost woman with whom he believed he had "a moment," and the poor old sap shows up alright; but when the girls see how cold Seymour's response is to being stood up, they decide to further pursue him at his weekly garage sale. Enid asks questions regarding his records, pretending she's never seen him before, of course. But in this meeting, the two instantly click as Seymour offers Enid much more assistance regarding her record shopping than necessary. It's as if he sees a bit of himself in her, and she a bit of herself in him. Their relationship is an awkward one that ranges from friendly to romantic to bitter, yet is wholly necessary and urgent for the both of them; together, as performed by the astounding Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi, they find their purpose and their drive: each other.
GRADE: B+
Film reviewed August 4th, 2002.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
