Capitol Films
Granada Productions
Mr. Mudd
Not part of a collection.
Ghost World
Accentuate the negative.
Two quirky, cynical, teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives following high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle-aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship.
- Original title
- Ghost World
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $7,000,000
- Revenue
- $8,800,000
Wuchak
Sep 24, 2025 · via TMDB
**_When the fun ‘n’ games of high school are over_** When two Millennials (Thora Birch and Scarlett Johannson) graduate, they find themselves facing adult questions of making a living, finding a place to live, acquiring a romantic partner and the possibility of college. They make fun of an eccentric, lonely bachelor (Steve Buscemi), but one of them is intrigued and starts a relationship with him under the pretense of finding him a girlfriend. “Ghost World” (2001) is a drama that starts out quirky and fun, but takes a sobering turn in the second half. It was helmed by the director of the heralded “Crumb” and retains some residue from that documentary. Beyond the amusing bits, it can be interpreted as a scary portrayal of Millennial failure to adjust to capitalism; and possibly an omen for the entire generation. Based on the late 90s’ graphic novel, it’s essentially a meshing of “The World of Henry Orient” from the early 60s with films like “Lawn Dogs” from four years prior and the contemporaneous “My First Mister,” the latter two focusing on young females connecting with older men. What’s the nature of such relationships? Is it simply friendship that transcends the generation gap? A spiritual father/spiritual daughter thang? Or is there a romantic element? All of these movies, as well as the later “Lost in Translation,” explore these questions and reveal that there’s a thin line between them. “Lost” is easily the best o’ the bunch while this flick would place second IMHO. “Lawn Dogs” is worthwhile, but hindered by awkward and unconvincing scenes while “My First Mister” is much better, yet also hampered by a couple iffy scenes. “Ghost World,” by contrast, is never unconvincing; and it addresses the heavy issues of life. Be forewarned, though, many will find the drama tedious. While the ending is left open, it’s a mistake to interpret it in a tragic way, which has become the predominant theory (rejected by the director and writer). The person in question sees a 'miracle': A bus is patiently waited for by a certain character, which she cynically believes is never going to manifest. When it does, she learns faith, hope and perseverance. Then she proceeds forth into the great unknown. It runs 1 hour, 51 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (and nearby Santa Clarita to the northwest). GRADE: B
CinemaSerf
Feb 19, 2025 · via TMDB
Despite some decent efforts on display here, I couldn’t help but think I’d seen it all before. It’s school friends “Enid” (Thora Birch) and “Rebecca” (Scarlet Johansson) who have just finished school and have, hitherto at any rate, been determined to live together whilst they abandon education and get jobs. It’s fair to say that these two women are a bit on the periphery of their community. “Enid”, especially, with her blue hair and punk affections fancies herself as a bit of an artist and has disdain for just about everyone else. To alleviate their boredom, they answer an ad in a lonely hearts type column and encounter the rather sad character that is “Seymour” (Steve Buscemi) to whom neither take much of an instant shine, but with whom “Enid” begins to become friends - without acknowledging that it was them who not only replied to his advert, but who also left him high and dry once they had seen what he looked like on their supposed date. With this friendship taking an unpredictable path and “Enid” gradually managing to distance herself from just about everyone else, it might be too late when she eventually realises the short-sightedness of her ways. At times this is quite a quirky and wittily written coming-of-age drama, but I couldn’t find enough from any of the characters here to care about. We were all selfish and opinionated at that age, with little respect for anything that didn’t meet our (not very exacting) standards, but that doesn’t necessarily make for engaging storytelling. The production seems overly designed to exacerbate the issues from their largely self-inflicted problems and poor life choices, and though Buscemi comes across as quite natural with his portrayal of a nerdy character I felt this film strived to make the bleeding obvious a more pedestrian tale of teen angst than create anything fresh or innovative. Maybe I am just too old, but this didn’t do much for me, sorry.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Fandango At Home
Thora Birch
Enid
Scarlett Johansson
Rebecca
Steve Buscemi
Seymour
Brad Renfro
Josh
Illeana Douglas
Roberta Allsworth
Bob Balaban
Enid's Dad
Stacey Travis
Dana
Charles C. Stevenson Jr.
Norman
Dave Sheridan
Doug
Tom McGowan
Joe
Debra Azar
Melora
Brian George
Sidewinder Boss
Pat Healy
John Ellis
Rini Bell
Graduation Speaker
T.J. Thyne
Todd
Ezra Buzzington
Weird Al
Lindsey Girardot
Vanilla
Joy Bisco
Jade
Venus DeMilo Thomas
Ebony
Ashley Peldon
Margaret
Marc Vann
Angry Guy (Jerome)
James Sie
Asian Guy (Steven)
Paul Keith
Fussy Guy (Paul)
David Cross
Pushy Guy (Gerrold)
Dylan Jones
Red-Haired Girl
Martin Grey
M.C.
Jake La Botz
Blueshammer Member
Charles Schneider
Joey McCobb
Sid Hillman
Zine-O-Phobia Creep
Patrick Fischler
Masterpiece Video Clerk
Daniel Graves
Masterpiece Video Customer
Matt Doherty
Masterpiece Video Employee
Debi Derryberry
Rude Coffee Customer
Joseph Sikora
Reggae Fan
Brian Jacobs
Soda Customer
Lauren Bowles
Angry Garage Sale Woman
Lorna Scott
Phyllis, the Art Show Curator
Jerry Rector
Dana's Co-Worker
Diane Salinger
Psychiatrist
Anna Berger
Seymour's Mother
Bruce Glover
Feldman (Wheelchair Guy)
Teri Garr
Maxine (uncredited)
Joan Blair
Lady Slowly Crossing Street (uncredited)
Michelle McGinty
Mom in Convenience Store (uncredited)
Will Forte
(uncredited)
Alan E. Muraoka
Art Direction
Affonso Beato
Director of Photography
Felipe Reinheimer
Second Assistant Camera
Mary Zophres
Costume Design
Charles Croughwell
Stunt Coordinator
John Branagan
Stunts
Robert Crumb
Thanks
Terry Zwigoff
Director
Carole Kravetz Aykanian
Editor
Cassandra Kulukundis
Casting
Pippa Cross
Executive Producer
John Malkovich
Producer
Chris McGeary
Music Editor
David Kitay
Original Music Composer
Mark Weingarten
Sound
David Parker
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Daniel Clowes
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Terry Zwigoff
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