'Ghost World' review by Captain Raptor
Although it's not really a defined subgenre, I've always greatly enjoyed 21st century comedy-dramas about snarky alternative people; be they factual (The Runaways) or fictitious (High Fidelity), be their differences subtle and barely mentioned (Pitch Perfect) or one of the integral parts of the film (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), be they Ellen Page (Juno) or also Ellen Page (Whip It). So, naturally, upon hearing of Ghost World, something in a similar vein, I resolved to watch it.
The problem with Ghost World is that it's got the snark, just without any heart. The protagonist of this tale, Enid, is so unbelievably disillusioned and bitter, so convinced that everybody that surrounds is her is so stupid and unworthy of her time that it was really, really hard to sympathise with her. She goes through character development as the movie goes on, but until the very end it's all played so deadpan by Thora Birch that it still doesn't feel like she's actually changed; I'm down with feelings of alienation and resentment in a character, but lines like "He better be careful or he'll get AIDS when he date rapes her" is the exact opposite of endearing, and I felt that there should have been a more defined transformation or evolution. All the film's characters are either are aggravating as Enid or otherwise entirely dull, meaning that excellent actors, namely Steve Buscemi and Scarlett Johansson, are wasted on parts that none of their talent and charisma can install much life into (although Johansson does come close to entertaining at various parts). There's no poor performances at all in the film, in fact Birch is very good in her part, it's just that the way the characters are written makes them almost fundamentally wearisome.
The rest of the film is as apathetic as its characters. There's around a dozen patronizing lines from various characters all expressing as well as championing a haughty and over-simplistic dissatisfaction with modern society and people in general, and it really gives me the impression of either the author of the original comic book or the screenwriter being terribly conceited. Anti-establishment I could get behind but the whole film just seems bored by everything, including itself. At one point a lecherous record collector played by Arrested Development's David Cross states that "It's physically impossible to score a home run without taking a swing" which is a philosophy clearly not shared by the writer, who barely makes any attempts to be funny, let alone any successful ones. There are some briefly amusing interludes in the interactions between an irritable convenience store proprietor and a redneck with nunchucks, but there's very little comedy that possesses the intelligence that is so highly valued in all the film's dialogue. There's a little more on offer in the drama department, but because the comedy failed in endearing me towards Enid, I struggled to particularly care about the issues she faced.
Ghost World was a total disappointment for me and might even be one of the worst films I've ever seen. A truly abominable script really is the central issue, and all the subsequent faults such as an unlikable protagonist and a lack of either charm or heart in the film's tone are caused by this. A strong cast tried hard to resurrect what had the potential to be subversive, sarcastic and smart, but their efforts can't save what I found to be a vapid film with a patronizing and over-inflated opinion of its own intelligence.
The rest of the film is as apathetic as its characters. There's around a dozen patronizing lines from various characters all expressing as well as championing a haughty and over-simplistic dissatisfaction with modern society and people in general, and it really gives me the impression of either the author of the original comic book or the screenwriter being terribly conceited. Anti-establishment I could get behind but the whole film just seems bored by everything, including itself. At one point a lecherous record collector played by Arrested Development's David Cross states that "It's physically impossible to score a home run without taking a swing" which is a philosophy clearly not shared by the writer, who barely makes any attempts to be funny, let alone any successful ones. There are some briefly amusing interludes in the interactions between an irritable convenience store proprietor and a redneck with nunchucks, but there's very little comedy that possesses the intelligence that is so highly valued in all the film's dialogue. There's a little more on offer in the drama department, but because the comedy failed in endearing me towards Enid, I struggled to particularly care about the issues she faced.
Ghost World was a total disappointment for me and might even be one of the worst films I've ever seen. A truly abominable script really is the central issue, and all the subsequent faults such as an unlikable protagonist and a lack of either charm or heart in the film's tone are caused by this. A strong cast tried hard to resurrect what had the potential to be subversive, sarcastic and smart, but their efforts can't save what I found to be a vapid film with a patronizing and over-inflated opinion of its own intelligence.
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