Ghost World
It was evident that Scarlett Johannson was going to be a star from her performance in The Horse Whisperer, in which she plays an emotionally and physically wounded victim of a horse accident. Her film presence remained below radar for a few years, until she gained critical praise for her starring role alongside Billy Murray in Lost in Translation. Johansson garnered Golden Globe nominations for her work in Translation and a lesser-known drama The Girl With the Pearl Earring. Johansson is making a career out of playing troubled and otherwise non-typical young women, and her performance in 2000's Ghost World is not an aberration of this trend, despite being overshadowed by co-stars Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi.
Remember those two girls you went to high school with; they were unhappy with their own lives, so they crapped on everyone else's good time? Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) are those girls. They just graduated from high school and are looking for an apartment to share. Correction: Enid needs to pass an art course taught by a free-spirited instructor (Illeana Douglas). Rebecca found a job at Starbucks and hates it.
For their own amusement, Enid and Rebecca torture those persons deemed inferior. One afternoon, one of the girls notices a personal ad, and they decide to play a joke on whoever placed it. They call the guy up pretending to be interested and agree to meet him at a local restaurant. At the mutually agreed time and date, the friends observe Seymour (Buscemi), who obviously placed the ad. Some time later, Enid and Rebecca stop by a rummage sale where Seymour happens to be selling old jazz records. Enid and Seymour become friends, but Rebecca starts to feel neglected.
Birch and Buscemi deliver remarkable performances in Ghost World. Birch's Enid is not made of sugar and spice and everything nice (similar to her American Beauty character Jane Burnham). Enid is brutally honest and self-expressive without fear of the consequences. She gets fired from the movie theater for poking fun at the feature, the popcorn "butter," and a customer. Enid's art projects offend the other students but impress the teacher.
Seymour is a likable loser, like many of Buscemi's previous characters. However, director Terry Zwigoff hardly exploits Buscemi's odd appearance for comedic value. Seymour is an old-school jazz fan; he has a lot of records but few friends. He's self aware that his looks and interests do not make him attractive to most women. He even questions Enid's company in regards to his age and personality.
Ghost World is a critically acclaimed standout in the troubled-teen sub-genre. It is sober without being too somber, and it can be funny without losing heart.
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Watch for a great scene in which Enid (Thora Birch) grabs a bottle of celebration wine, pops the top, and chugs it like a pro.
Romantic themes take a backseat in this dramedy.
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