Ghost World (2001)

Despite some decent efforts on display here, I couldn’t help but think I’d seen it all before. It’s school friends “Enid” (Thora Birch) and “Rebecca” (Scarlet Johansson) who have just finished school and have, hitherto at any rate, been determined to live together whilst they abandon education and get jobs. It’s fair to say that these two women are a bit on the periphery of their community. “Enid”, especially, with her blue hair and punk affections fancies herself as a bit of an artist and has disdain for just about everyone else. To alleviate their boredom, they answer an ad in a lonely hearts type column and encounter the rather sad character that is “Seymour” (Steve Buscemi) to whom neither take much of an instant shine, but with whom “Enid” begins to become friends - without acknowledging that it was them who not only replied to his advert, but who also left him high and dry once they had seen what he looked like on their supposed date. With this friendship taking an unpredictable path and “Enid” gradually managing to distance herself from just about everyone else, it might be too late when she eventually realises the short-sightedness of her ways. At times this is quite a quirky and wittily written coming-of-age drama, but I couldn’t find enough from any of the characters here to care about. We were all selfish and opinionated at that age, with little respect for anything that didn’t meet our (not very exacting) standards, but that doesn’t necessarily make for engaging storytelling. The production seems overly designed to exacerbate the issues from their largely self-inflicted problems and poor life choices, and though Buscemi comes across as quite natural with his portrayal of a nerdy character I felt this film strived to make the bleeding obvious a more pedestrian tale of teen angst than create anything fresh or innovative. Maybe I am just too old, but this didn’t do much for me, sorry.

**_When the fun ‘n’ games of high school are over_**

When two Millennials (Thora Birch and Scarlett Johannson) graduate, they find themselves facing adult questions of making a living, finding a place to live, acquiring a romantic partner and the possibility of college. They make fun of an eccentric, lonely bachelor (Steve Buscemi), but one of them is intrigued and starts a relationship with him under the pretense of finding him a girlfriend.

“Ghost World” (2001) is a drama that starts out quirky and fun, but takes a sobering turn in the second half. It was helmed by the director of the heralded “Crumb” and retains some residue from that documentary. Beyond the amusing bits, it can be interpreted as a scary portrayal of Millennial failure to adjust to capitalism; and possibly an omen for the entire generation.

Based on the late 90s’ graphic novel, it’s essentially a meshing of “The World of Henry Orient” from the early 60s with films like “Lawn Dogs” from four years prior and the contemporaneous “My First Mister,” the latter two focusing on young females connecting with older men. What’s the nature of such relationships? Is it simply friendship that transcends the generation gap? A spiritual father/spiritual daughter thang? Or is there a romantic element? All of these movies, as well as the later “Lost in Translation,” explore these questions and reveal that there’s a thin line between them.

“Lost” is easily the best o’ the bunch while this flick would place second IMHO. “Lawn Dogs” is worthwhile, but hindered by awkward and unconvincing scenes while “My First Mister” is much better, yet also hampered by a couple iffy scenes. “Ghost World,” by contrast, is never unconvincing; and it addresses the heavy issues of life. Be forewarned, though, many will find the drama tedious.

While the ending is left open, it’s a mistake to interpret it in a tragic way, which has become the predominant theory (rejected by the director and writer). The person in question sees a 'miracle': A bus is patiently waited for by a certain character, which she cynically believes is never going to manifest. When it does, she learns faith, hope and perseverance. Then she proceeds forth into the great unknown.

It runs 1 hour, 51 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (and nearby Santa Clarita to the northwest).

GRADE: B