Sunday, September 6, 2009

ACCENTUATE THE NEGATIVE


This weekend was the Labor Day Sale at Half Price Books. I met some friends there and as we looked through the tables and shelves of DVD's, we talk about various movies. I spied a copy of Ghost World, one of my favorite films, and tried to talk my friends into buying the DVD. Both of 'em passed. Well, here's a sample of what you missed, guys. Meanwhile, my dear readers can pick up a copy of Ghost World here.


If you've ever felt alienated by the world around you, Ghost World will offer laughter, tears, and reassurance that you are definitely not alone. Adapted by Daniel Clowes and Crumb director Terry Zwigoff from Clowes's acclaimed graphic novel, the movie spends summer vacation with high school graduates Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlet Johansson). They inflict little tortures on the denizens of urban sprawl, wielding scathing irony as a defense against a "ghost world" full of pop-cultural lemmings and uncertain futures. But when Enid picks a 40-ish vintage-record collector (Steve Buscemi) as the target of her latest cruel prank, she finds herself unexpectedly attracted to him ("he's the opposite of everything I completely hate") and is forced to confront her own crushing loneliness. This combination of deadpan sarcasm and deeply compassionate humanity makes Ghost World a rare and delicate comedy, with an ambiguous ending that suggests tragedy or hope, depending on your own point of view.

2 comments:

Darius Whiteplume said...

An excellent movie. I secretly judge people based on their opinion of it. Sometimes not so secretly :-)

Keith said...

Ha! That's great, Darius. Ghost World is one of my favorite movies. I highly recommend it to everyone but not everyone gets it. The ending seems to throw most people. I think it's the best comic book film ever made.

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