Ghost World Reviews

The way this film ends is what I like most about it. And I say this not to put down the rest of it, but the powerful image and idea of simply disappearing really packs an inherent punch.
I suppose that would be how the film's title creates a rather analogous feel between the world, people, and how things are never quite what they seem to be. And of course, people just fade away in one way or another. That sounds really depressing, but it doesn't have to be if we're living in the moment and appreciate what we have, not what we don't. This is something the two main characters Enid(Thora Birch) and Becky(Scarlett Johansson) do not understand due to their age and the feeling that they have to get out of where they've been after they graduate from high school. Sure this would be natural, but their priorities and outlooks are clouded raising the question of who they are and where they belong.
Steve Buscemi portrays a memorable withdrawn character named Seymour who the girls meet as he's selling old records at a yard/garage sale. Things for him are somewhat bleak as a record collector with a dull job and a girlfriend that keeps him in a rut that he desperately needs to get out of. When he develops a "relationship" with Enid, he begins to realize how things for him do indeed need to change. But in a "Ghost World", perhaps ideas and plans just like to haunt those who can't seem to function in the light of day.
Yet, there is a light side to this film with some cheap laughs which are always of value.

Very little like anything I've ever seen before, and a charming exploration of what makes a dork - or a hipster, today - and what we should want out of life. The setting of the film seems to be inconsistent - is this a small-town, a mid-sized city, or what? - but the tone is well-struck, even better than in later imitators like Napoleon Dynamite and Juno. I confess to having not read the graphic novel on which it's based, but from the film, for the life of me, I couldn't glean what the title meant. I'd have given it another half-star if I'd managed that. Perfectly cast - Thora Birch in particular - and strangely enchanting, Ghost World is a winner, and hasn't lost any of its relevance 10 years later. See this film.

"I can't relate to 99% of humanity."

Enid and Rebecca are social outsiders who, after graduating from high school, play a mean prank on a middle-aged geek.

REVIEW
A really terrific female coming-of-age film that stars Thora Birch (fresh off "American Beauty") and newcomer (at the time) Scarlett Johannson as two high school friends who discover that the ties that bind when you're sixteen don't necessarily translate to the adult world. Both girls relish their dead-pan, us-against-the-world senses of humor and their shared belief that everyone but them is dumb or square or both. But tensions arise when Johannson gets a job, starts thinking about her future and matures generally, while Birch begins to feel more and more stuck, still mad at the world but increasingly bothered by the fact that she doesn't have a place in it. The thing I liked most about the film is that it doesn't pass judgement on either girl. It doesn't try to make us dislike Johannson for "selling out" and it doesn't make a hero out of Birch for her alternative chic. Instead, it addresses frankly the tricky job of developing an adult personality whether or not you're ready to do so. Steve Buscemi does nice work as a middle-aged geek whom the girls are a little too quick to label.

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

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 twisted kind of way I enjoyed the character of Steve Buscemi
It was refreshing to see a guy having a Job, and a NONE SERIEL KILLER but an outsider sort of lives in his own world and admits to be an outsider. The Character FASCINATED ME SO BADLY.

Well lets admit in every of us there this "Spiny thingy waiting to be discovered"

four stars

Totally overrated.

Two friends endure the trials and tribulations of high school graduation. Based on an indie comic book, Ghost World is one of those self-consciously "cool" character studies that almost bursts a blood vessel in its attempt to be effortlessly quirky. The main character played by Thora Birch is one of those "offbeat" heroines with a teen angst hatred of the world, but like people like that, she is also a bit like a black hole of self superior snideyness that kind of makes you want to slap her. The few laughs there are come from the supporting cast, including an amusingly observed new age art teacher and especially the nunchuck wielding redneck whose brief appearances basically steal the entire film. Steve Buscemi is easily the most sympathetic character and within him lies an interesting message about the sacrifices and compromises we all must make to relate to other people, but I couldn't help feeling that the film was making me do all the hard work. Not an offensive watch, but the experience of seeing this film felt a bit like a non event.

Ghost World follows the story of two teens, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) during that scary, post-high school graduation time of life as they try to make their way ....
i think Its quite witty and well acted and has a creative original story~! i did find myself laughing in some parts~! A great deal of the credit for the power of the movie must be given to the actors,though,as Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson are outstanding in the way they bring life to these characters.

Recent high school graduates Enid and Becky's friendship is in trouble when a prank played on a lonely middle-aged man (played wonderfully by Steve Buscemi) instead causes Enid to develop a friendship with him. The two friends soon drift apart as Enid becomes more and more involved with him as Becky continues looking further into adult life. Great acting all around in this quirky and unusual comedy.

Great adaptation from the graphic novel.

There are no words for how much I love this movie! It is pretty near perfect as far as I am concerned. I even own the graphic novel this movie was based on (and I don't do graphic novels and comics). I'm sure Enid gets compared to Juno, and while it's a fair comment, and I loved Juno as well - Enid was first, and therefore best!
Scarlett Johansson also shines here as Rebecca, and Steve Buscemi as the nerdy Seymour. I don't know what it says about me that I can totally relate to all three of these characters.
On a more shallow note, I absolutely love every single outfit Enid wears in this (aside from the green haired punk look!). Definitely a movie for outcasts and misfits. Perfect.

A unique, incredibly well acted, and overall very memorable indie-gem that really has no definitive plot, but serves as an astoundingly honest look at people who don't plan for the future. This movie is definitely a one of a kind, possessing original, well thought-out characters who speak their minds instead of bottling up their emotions, as well as an ambiguous, un-Hollywood like finale which I welcomed with open arms. The only minor complaint I have is that Johansson's character wasn't as compelling as Birch's, and the main fault there lies with the story not giving a fair amount of screen time to her equally offbeat character as well. Overall though, this is an effective film. It explores the world of people that aren't featured often in cinema, and makes you end up caring about them in the end. The performances are all outstanding, and the relationship between Birch and Buscemi, and how these actors handle it, is definitely something to behold.

This was pretty good.

Ghost Wold is the story of two teenagers trying to find something to do or somewhere to be in a world that completely bores them. Rebecca and Enid just graduated from highschool and they need to figure out what to do next. They have to keep their friendship strong through the separate paths they will take, and at the same time confront this reality -that they don't like- into which it's time to step in. Both of them try different ways.

Rebecca and Enid are played by Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch. Both of them have a cruel, almost shockingly witty sense of humor, and unchanging expressions of total apathy in front of most of what goes on in their lives. Their characters are so well-written, and the dialogue in the film is just terrific. Many such comedies about "teenage outcasts" tend to wildly exaggerate "lingo", or make really heavy use of stereotypes until almost every character has a label across their forehead. Ghost World is almost sympathetic to its characters, even those it tends to criticize, by understanding that really no one is all bad, or exclusively what we think they are at first glance. I was relieved by the lack of cliché scenarios and the intelligence with which so much of the film developed. However, this doesn't mean Enid and Rebecca do not treat the people they consider idiots in brutal ways, it simply means the rest of the film does not necessarily side with them. If you laugh along with them, which I did, you are the only one held accountable.

Steve Buscemi plays a lonely, awkward, yet good-hearted old blues record collector on whom Enid and Rebecca play a practical joke. Soon Enid realizes perhaps he is just as disenchanted with the world as she is and finds in him a companion. This relationship seems perfectly absurd to us from outside, but the way their scenes together are written helps us make complete sense of them and it's, to me, the single most involving aspect of the entire film. Steve Buscemi's performance is really the key to making the character work. He always plays characters that are somewhat offbeat, but he's always great, and in this particular role he perfectly handles the dichotomy of pathetic yet strong, beat down yet not hopeless.

These three performances make the film thanks to a great script. It doesn't have quite a coming-of-age theme, and it isn't a feel-good film, it's about two girls in a difficult situation they can only fix from inside. It has some devastating moments, then it's laugh-out-loud funny, then it kind of made me want to cry. Certainly very well written, and in many ways, a little piece of life.

A truly unique movie and great adaption. Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson are perfect together and have some of the best chemistry. I love the story and its bizarre nature, it is truly unable to judge what type of genre it fits into. It is hilarious, but also very deep and meaningful.

A great comic adaption from Terry Zwigoff . It's fast becoming a bit of a cult classic and rightly so. Birch's unexpectedly good performance is what really makes the film though, while Buscemi is great supporting role seals the deal. A great little film that flew under the radar!

This movie was alright. The story seemed decent enough and the characters were pretty cool but Johansson seemed absent and her voice is really annoying. Overall, it was ok.

This is one of those little gems that almost escaped my notice. Outstanding and highly recommended!

Its tough being a smart outcast. Enid realizes that she is turning into the very deadbeats that she ostracizes.

I enjoyed this movie - as I do most movies where the characters are finding out about themselves. I still haven't figured out where that bus goes though.