Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Ghost World’?

Ghost World (2001)

tomatometer

92

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 148
Fresh: 136 | Rotten: 12

With acerbic wit, Terry Zwigoff fashions Daniel Clowes' graphic novel into an intelligent, comedic trip through deadpan teen angst.

97

Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 1

With acerbic wit, Terry Zwigoff fashions Daniel Clowes' graphic novel into an intelligent, comedic trip through deadpan teen angst.

audience

81

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 66,735

My Rating

Movie Info

Filmmaker Terry Zwigoff, who enjoyed breakthrough success with his 1994 documentary Crumb, shifts gears as he examines the lives of two young women on the verge of leaving their adolescence behind in his first dramatic feature. Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) are two close friends who've just graduated from high school, and are trying to decide what to do with their lives. Enid is a dark-haired arch cynic who is tired of living at home with her ineffectual dad (Bob Balaban)

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Drama, Comedy

Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff

Feb 5, 2002

$4.7M

United Artists

Cast

All Critics (148) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (141) | Rotten (15) | DVD (37)

By sharp turns poignant, disturbing and hysterically funny.

July 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It has qualities -- a ferocious wit and a youthful snap and savvy -- that can make it irresistible to sophisticated older moviegoers and intelligent teenagers alike.

August 31, 2001 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | Comment
Sacramento Bee
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Never predictable, this movie is often hilarious as well as touching, subtly adapting the mise en scene of Clowes's original without being fancy or obtrusive about it.

August 31, 2001 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A touching study of alienation that comes with no easy answers or excuses for those who cannot seem to connect in life.

August 24, 2001 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[Zwigoff] has elicited remarkable performances.

August 24, 2001 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | Comment
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Give this weirdly humanitarian picture a try, and don't be surprised if you find yourself smiling through the bummer.

August 20, 2001 Full Review Source: CNN.com | Comment
CNN.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Like "Rushmore" with a female slant, "Ghost World" tackles the true torches we often keep to ourselves as well as the struggle of feeling like a specter, or, as Enid says, as though "everyone's too stupid to realize you."

September 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Suite101.com

Most of Ghost World is funny, but the laughs are inextricably tied to the painful alienation and self-loathing that comes with living on society's fringes.

July 14, 2010 Full Review Source: AV Club | Comment
AV Club

Offbeat indie dramedy will resonate with older teens.

December 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

...satisfying in ways that more than compensate for the film's soft ending.

July 21, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

A pretty good comedy with great performances by its cast but fails in its delivery.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

If more people appreciated stories like this, movies and comic books would be better off.

February 14, 2008 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

Anyone who grew up in the suburbs or ever felt out of place will find something to relate to in this film.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comment
Big Picture Big Sound

his is 'teen comedy' of startling sophistication -- with horribly funny bits as well. A true original, with sharp humour, subtle detail and painfully realistic characters.

December 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

Based on Clowes' underground comic book, this is a tale of how the mediocrity of American subsurbs can suffocate its creative denizens, all misfits of course; it's extremely well acted by Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch.

August 17, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

It isn't a perfect film, but it's never less than strikingly original.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

A treatment only a couple of small steps away from the bland, barebones one the studio gives to the countless catalog titles they release every month.

March 5, 2005 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | Comment
TheMovieReport.com

Zwigoff makes Enid's neighborhood a truly strange and haunted place, where plastic people robotically follow their society's norms, and those who resist are left angry, alienated, and without any ideas for how to survive.

January 15, 2005 Comment
Looking Closer

Like its heroine, Ghost World dares to drop its defenses, deepening as it shifts from evoking sympathy for the judgmental misanthrope to saluting the bravery of those who find beauty in others' flaws.

January 2, 2004 Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | Comment

É interessante notar como duas amigas, inicialmente tão próximas em seu cinismo e em sua presunção, se distanciam gradualmente, embora pouca coisa mude além do universo colegial que as cercava.

July 25, 2003 Comment
Cinema em Cena

There are bits of wicked humor, but Zwigoff begins by laughing at the kooks in Clowes' ghost of a world and never stops. The real crime is that Clowes is content to join in with him.

May 14, 2003 Comment
Palo Alto Weekly

Zwigoff pulls off something in Ghost World that seems a minor miracle -- he creates someone with a complex inner life.

April 21, 2003 Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | Comment
L.A. Weekly

Another whiny white suburban teen chick anthem film, I thought. And then, I found myself pleasantly surprised that it was something more than that.

March 19, 2003 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Ghost World

A really good screenplay, with a black and deadpan comedy. Captivating picture, that make me identify with the characters.

May 7, 2011
Lucas Martins

Super Reviewer

First of all I didnt know this Movie is based upon a Comic. I just dont know how to describe this Movie. The other reviewers have already said what I think. The End Scene with the Bus was really interesting. Bizarre but in a sort of natural way. The Girls were totally great as well, especially Thora Birch. BUT in a

October 6, 2011
ScoopOnline
Wahida K

Super Reviewer

    1. Seymour: Well, I have to admit that things are really starting to look up for me since my life turned to shit.
    – Submitted by Alexandar T (49 days ago)
    1. Enid: We graduated high school. How totally amazing.
    – Submitted by Alexandar T (49 days ago)

Latest News for Ghost World

March 5, 2009:
Total Recall: Which Graphic Novels Made Good Movies?
With Watchmen hitting theaters this week, we at RT decided to take a look at other graphic novels...

January 17, 2008:
Brad Renfro: 1982-2008
Brad Renfro, star of The Client and Apt Pupil, passed away Tuesday of unknown causes. He was 25.

What's Hot On RT

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,514 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,307 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,076 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,587 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile