Ghost World
2001 Directed by Terry Zwigoff
Synopsis
Accentuate the negative.
A high school girl forms a friendship with a eccentric 40-year-old record collector after playing a prank on him with her best friend.
Popular reviews
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"I can't relate to 99% of humanity."
If you've never felt this way, then this probably isn't the movie for you. Thora Birch's Enid is spiteful of everyone she encounters except her small group of close friends. Scarlett Johansson's Rebecca at first seems just as cynical towards the world, but really she just seems to go with the flow and in the beginning she is only around Enid. As Rebecca gets a job and apartment, Enid moves on to Steve Buscemi's Seymour to seemingly leech off of and the two friends grow apart. Writing this out, it makes it seem like the movie is a big downer, and it is, but just not in that way.
What I really like… -
As Ghost World predates the emergence of nerds becoming cool, it has sincerity and heart that is lacking in nerd movies such as Scott Pilgrim and Kick Ass.
Unlike both Scott Pilgrim and Kick Ass which feature their respected main nerd character being popular and having sex with beautiful women, Ghost World features a main character who is A) Not popular, B) At times extremely unlikeable, and C) not male. All three of these things prevent the film from getting the recognition that it rightfully deserves, but at least it has gotten a lot of critical acclaim, and rightly so.
Thora Birch plays Enid, a social misfit who at times hates herself as much, if not more, than she hates…
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You can take your Juno, your Scott Pilgrim, even your Heathers, and chuck them in a skip, because Ghost World just does it all so much better. Well, all of it that's worth doing. I'm beginning to think this melancholy, bitingly hilarious crystallisation of teen ennui might be the only film I'll ever really need.
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It won me over. It taps into that uneasy sense of antipathy, of ennui, that pervades youth - something that's easy to forget about as you grow older.
It also captures that odd vibe from the 1990s, something I still can't quite put my finger on.
Steve Buscemi does incredibly well to turn what should be a limp loser into a likeable and sympathetic character. -
Thank you Thora Birch for making me feel less bad about the emotional havoc I caused in my teens, we should be friends
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"Top 50 of the 2000's Selection"
"Top 10 of 2001 Selection"This is one of those films that with simplicity, dark humor and sarcasm give you a complex statement about a world of consumerism and lost of identity.
'Ghost World' define a generation. That group would be Generation Y teens and young adults who reject the values of suburban America.
Recent reviews
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There is a scene in this film where one of the characters makes a painfully unfunny joke and all the other characters laugh like it's the funniest thing in the world. The only problem is that "Ghost World" is comprised of one hundred repetitions of that same scene, none of them funny in any way. It's almost like the screenwriter needed someone to laugh at their jokes so badly they had to invent people to do it for them.
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A first film that dares to denunciate a system of unconscionable exploitation which had become the majority party and remains vital for this kind of production, shows real courage and a great social awareness.
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A great little film about broken people, nostalgia, change, interpretation, and a ton of other things. Not as good as the comic book it's based on, but still great.
Art Teacher: [looking at a drawing of a man smashing another man's head in with a sledgehammer] What can you tell us about your piece, er... Phillip?
Phillip: Er... it's about The Mutilator.
Art Teacher: [smiling] My goodness!
Phillip: It's a really great video game about a guy who kills people with a big hammer.
Art Teacher: Oh. I thought maybe this was supposed to be your father.
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"I can't relate to 99 percent of humanity"
I love this film. Awesome. -
I was at the world premiere for this film, held at the Egyptian Theater during the Seattle International Film Festival. My expectations were high, as I loved the graphic novel. I wasn't disappointed. Terry Zwigoff gets the tone just right in the film. I have re-watched the film a number of times since. It remains a favorite.
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If a movie could be a spirit animal, Ghost World would be mine. I adore every single second of this film.
I remember reading about it back when the movie first came out and had wanted to see it ever since and damn do I wish I had watched when I was back in high school. The apathy, the sarcasm, the intense pop-culture references. The contempt for society as a whole...That was and still is my life. I always thought Election was the best, most realistic high school film, but this one is even more specifically relatable. And as much as I intensely identify with Enid and Rebecca, I also see myself as the Seymour character just as much. I knew it was one of my favorite movies within the first 3 minutes. No joke. Haven't seen in a movie in a while where I wanted to watch it ten more times immediately afterwards.
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i don't think there's been a movie that so encompasses how fucking boring it is being a teenager just out of high school
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tragic
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A fun, quirky, classic cult that doesn’t try to be anything but that.