Ghost World
1/4
Starring: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Illeana Douglas, Brad Renfro
Rated R for Strong Language and Some Sexual Content
When I first saw this movie, I hated it. I despised it as much as "The Royal Tenenbaums." And there is one reason for that: the lead character is one of the most obnoxious, nihilistic, cruel and vicious beasts ever to grace the screen. Keep that in mind when I go on a rant here.
Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johannson) are outsiders, and proud of it. They think anything or anyone normal is a boring loser and anything weird or annoying is cool. In other words, they're ultra-hipsters. Shortly after graduation, they decide to play a prank on a guy who put a personal ad in the paper. His name is Seymour (Buscemi), and they drag their friend Josh (Renfro) to watch as he sits sadly in the diner stood up by the date he thought he had. Cruel, huh? It gets worse. Rebecca realizes that being normal isn't as terrible as it sounds and gets a job. Enid, on the other hand, avoids conventionality like the plague, and strikes a kinship up with Seymour. To her credit, she takes an art class led by the earthy Roberta (Douglas), but the only reason she isn't thrown out is because Roberta is loopy enough to buy her bullshit.
Can a single detestable character tank a film? Apparently so. Granted, there are movie characters that we're not supposed to like. Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho," Jeffrey Dahmer in "Dahmer," any movie villain. None of the characters I've listed were intended to be sympathetic. But they were interesting enough that watching a movie about them was a worthwhile, if not entertaining, experience. Enid, on the other hand, is such a vile individual that I wished one of two things for her: she'd get mental help, or run into Billy from "Silent Night, Deadly Night." In the comic by Daniel Clowes (which I was forced to read for school), there's no plot. It's all about how Enid and Rebecca make fun of everyone they come across. If Clowes (who co-wrote the screenplay with director Terry Zwigoff) meant this to be dark comedy, it doesn't work. There are a few witty moments, but for the most part "Ghost World" is a depressing experience.
I can think of two arguments in defense of "Ghost World," both equally valid. Defense #1: we're not supposed to like Enid until she grows up. An excellent point. There are many films where we start out hating the protagonist until they grow a brain and a heart. Zwigoff attempts for Enid to fall for Seymour, but there are two problems. First, Enid is such a bitch that after the first ten minutes all I wanted was for her to go away and never enter my mind again. Second, the film is so depressing that I ceased to have any change in emotion at all. Defense #2: Thora Birch gives a wonderful performance. So she does. Birch makes Enid into a real, three-dimensional woman. That's actually the problem. Trying to make us feel for such a hateful person isn't going to endear many people to the film. I don't know about you, but spending 90 minutes with such an annoying and aggressively evil person isn't my cup of tea. When I watched "American Psycho," I was engaged and in the company of a compelling protagonist. That isn't the case here. I just wanted her to shut up and stop being such a bitch.
There are good things about this movie. The acting is strong across the board, but that's saying much when the whole cast is made up of freaks and losers that one doesn't want to associate with. Roberta is the exception (well, so is Josh, since he's really a patsy). Douglas plays her with enough flakiness that she's funny. Douglas gets the role. Sadly, she's only on screen for a few scenes.
Look, I'm sorry I'm ranting here. I'm not a hateful person. But I don't think I can express just how annoying and aggravating Enid is. Why would anyone want to spend 90 minutes with her?
Starring: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Illeana Douglas, Brad Renfro
Rated R for Strong Language and Some Sexual Content
When I first saw this movie, I hated it. I despised it as much as "The Royal Tenenbaums." And there is one reason for that: the lead character is one of the most obnoxious, nihilistic, cruel and vicious beasts ever to grace the screen. Keep that in mind when I go on a rant here.
Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johannson) are outsiders, and proud of it. They think anything or anyone normal is a boring loser and anything weird or annoying is cool. In other words, they're ultra-hipsters. Shortly after graduation, they decide to play a prank on a guy who put a personal ad in the paper. His name is Seymour (Buscemi), and they drag their friend Josh (Renfro) to watch as he sits sadly in the diner stood up by the date he thought he had. Cruel, huh? It gets worse. Rebecca realizes that being normal isn't as terrible as it sounds and gets a job. Enid, on the other hand, avoids conventionality like the plague, and strikes a kinship up with Seymour. To her credit, she takes an art class led by the earthy Roberta (Douglas), but the only reason she isn't thrown out is because Roberta is loopy enough to buy her bullshit.
Can a single detestable character tank a film? Apparently so. Granted, there are movie characters that we're not supposed to like. Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho," Jeffrey Dahmer in "Dahmer," any movie villain. None of the characters I've listed were intended to be sympathetic. But they were interesting enough that watching a movie about them was a worthwhile, if not entertaining, experience. Enid, on the other hand, is such a vile individual that I wished one of two things for her: she'd get mental help, or run into Billy from "Silent Night, Deadly Night." In the comic by Daniel Clowes (which I was forced to read for school), there's no plot. It's all about how Enid and Rebecca make fun of everyone they come across. If Clowes (who co-wrote the screenplay with director Terry Zwigoff) meant this to be dark comedy, it doesn't work. There are a few witty moments, but for the most part "Ghost World" is a depressing experience.
I can think of two arguments in defense of "Ghost World," both equally valid. Defense #1: we're not supposed to like Enid until she grows up. An excellent point. There are many films where we start out hating the protagonist until they grow a brain and a heart. Zwigoff attempts for Enid to fall for Seymour, but there are two problems. First, Enid is such a bitch that after the first ten minutes all I wanted was for her to go away and never enter my mind again. Second, the film is so depressing that I ceased to have any change in emotion at all. Defense #2: Thora Birch gives a wonderful performance. So she does. Birch makes Enid into a real, three-dimensional woman. That's actually the problem. Trying to make us feel for such a hateful person isn't going to endear many people to the film. I don't know about you, but spending 90 minutes with such an annoying and aggressively evil person isn't my cup of tea. When I watched "American Psycho," I was engaged and in the company of a compelling protagonist. That isn't the case here. I just wanted her to shut up and stop being such a bitch.
There are good things about this movie. The acting is strong across the board, but that's saying much when the whole cast is made up of freaks and losers that one doesn't want to associate with. Roberta is the exception (well, so is Josh, since he's really a patsy). Douglas plays her with enough flakiness that she's funny. Douglas gets the role. Sadly, she's only on screen for a few scenes.
Look, I'm sorry I'm ranting here. I'm not a hateful person. But I don't think I can express just how annoying and aggravating Enid is. Why would anyone want to spend 90 minutes with her?
she is nowhere near as annoying as you and your reviews are
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