Ghost World (2001)

With only the plan of moving in together after high school, two unusually devious friends seek direction in life. As a mere gag, they respond to a man's newspaper ad for a date, only to find it will greatly complicate their lives.

Director:

Terry Zwigoff

Writers:

Daniel Clowes (comic book), Daniel Clowes

Stars:

Steve Buscemi, Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 28 wins & 55 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

This is the story of Enid and Rebecca after they finish the high school. Both have problems relating to people and they spend their time hanging around and bothering creeps. When they meet Seymour who is a social outsider who loves to collect old 78 records, Enid's life will change forever.

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Plot Keywords:

older man young girl relationship | older man younger woman | mini skirt | short skirt | female best friends | 

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Taglines:

They're high school graduates, and the world's got hell to pay!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and some sexual content

Details

Country:

USA UK Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prízracný svet

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$98,791, 22 July 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,217,849

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,543,544

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists,Granada Film Productions,Jersey Shore

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The two original movie posters on Enid's wall are Pufnstuf (1970) and The World of Henry Orient (1964), a film about two teenage girls with similarities to this film.

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Goofs

When Seymour is talking to his therapist, a clock on the table beside the lamp disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

Graduation Speaker: High school is like the training wheels for the bicycle of real life. It is a time when young people can explore different fields of interest and hopefully learn from their experiences. In coming to terms with my own personal setback, I have been able to learn that I don't need to rely on drugs and alcohol, and that I'm very lucky that more people besides myself and Carrie weren't injured in the accident. And I have learned that to overcome life's obstacles you need faith, hope and, above all, ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

After all the credits roll, there's another take of the scene where Seymour (Steve Buscemi) gets attacked by Doug in the minimart. Only this time, Buscemi's characer easily wins the fight, choking Doug with his own weapon, and stomps out triumphantly. He finishes with a bunch of Mr. Pink type dialogue.

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Connections

References Crumb (1994)

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Soundtracks

I Must Have It
Written by Davidson Nelson and King Oliver (as Joseph "King" Oliver)
Performed by Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks

User Reviews

It's not Daria, and if you don't get it, don't bitch

The first time I saw this movie I f***ing went insane! Best movie I had ever seen! I saw it on the first day of school that year, so it started me off pumped. It meant so much to me, and accentuated and made sense of many parts of my life. I cannot explain how close I am to this movie. My best fiend saw it with me too, and we have been a lot closer since then.

It was very smartly written, realistic as hell- not necessarily the actions, but the feelings behind the actions taken in this movie.

It is basically about this girl named Enid (Thora Birch) who has just graduated high school, and doesn't know where her life is going. She quickly discriminates against others, though I think that most of the time, she is justified. Enid and her friend Rebecca are spending the whole movie thinking about getting an apartment, but Enid procrastinates. She basically stops caring about anything that will help her in life, and entertains herself by hating everything that she can. This makes her depressed, and she loves it. Enid becomes involved with an older jazz/ragtime enthusiast named Seymour (Steve Buscemi) who has issues relating to others. Enid likes/ is intrigued by him, and feels that he can relate to her better than anyone else that she knows in her world. Seymour is her drug. As a drama, Ghost World was great. The first half of the movie, though, was one of the funniest, darkest setups I have ever seen. A lot of sarcastic humor that many would call ______ist, but whatever. It's got some of the best one liners I've ever heard. I will not go on and on about the ending, because other reviewers have overly voiced their 10 line opinions about how it's so good that it's gone past bad and back to good again or really "sucky and artsy". About the ending, I will say this- It is not a normal Hollywood ending. That's good. Hollywood is redundant.

"A tampon in a teacup?"

"It's my response to a women's right to choose. It's something I feel super strongly about!"