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Ghost World
(Reviewed July 14, 2001, by James Dawson)
-
Deadpan, disaffected teenage irony may have gone out with the '90s (or was it the '80s?), but Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson do a darn good job of reviving it in this strange, funny and mostly smart comedy from the talented director of "Crumb."
I've never read the Daniel Clowes comics series from which the screenplay is adapted (by Clowes and director Terry Zwigoff). But in comics terms, if you imagine a couple of Jaime Hernandez's sweetly sarcastic "Love and Rockets" girls transplanted into an "everything modern sucks" Robert Crumb universe, you've pretty much got the lay of the land in "Ghost World."
Birch essentially reprises her "go ahead, try to impress me...please" character from "American Beauty," except with more esoteric tastes (and more out-there outfits) this time around. She forms an unusual relationship with the always-great Steve Buscemi, who channels nostalgia-minded malcontent Crumb as a loveless record collector living in a very retro apartment. Johansson is Birch's best friend, who graduates high school with Birch at the beginning of the movie, and who has the most husky, sultry voice you're ever likely to hear coming out of a 15-year-old (her age at the time of filming, incredibly enough).
Things start out slowly, but pick up considerably when the two girls encounter Buscemi. Most of the movie's humor comes from small things (such as Birch's disgusted reaction to the butter used on movie popcorn, a non-PC note she leaves on a friend's door when he is not at home, and the comments the two girls make about people in general). Yet even though everything stays pretty low-key, it's all so interesting that you will be left wanting more even after nearly two hours.
Back Row Grade: A-
POSTSCRIPT ADDED JULY 26, 2001: I originally gave this movie a B+, but after seeing it a second time I realized that it really deserved better, ranking as one of the best movies of the year (right up there with "Memento" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"). GO SEE IT!
Also, I now have read the original comics on which the movie is based. Although Dan Clowes' original comics were okay, the movie is much, much better. Clowes' collaboration with director Terry Zwigoff on the screenplay paid off in a script that is both funnier and more touching than the original. Most importantly, Zwigoff is responsible for fleshing out the Steve Buscemi character Seymour and making him central to the plot. (The character is only briefly seen and very tangential to the original comics version of "Ghost World.") This is one of those (very) rare instances in which a movie is actually superior to its source material.
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