Ghost World (Dol) [VHS]

MGM (Video & DVD) Search MGM (Video & DVD) by Thora Birch; Scarlett Johansson; Steve Buscemi; Brad Renfro; Illeana Douglas Search Thora Birch; Scarlett Johansson; Steve Buscemi; Brad Renfro; Illeana Douglas

~~List Price: $9.98~~
Our Price: $9.98
Released: 2002-08-06

Rating:

More Details: Ghost World (Dol) [VHS]
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Description
Thora Birch (American Beauty) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) "sneak into your heart and stay there" (Rolling Stone) in this "eerie, masterful movie" (Movieline) from the acclaimed director of Crumb. Co-starring Brad Renfro (Deuces Wild), Illeana Douglas (Stir of Echos) and Steve Buscemi (Fargo) in "the best role of his career" (Movieline), Ghost World is a "smartly strange comedy [that] stands out like the Taj Mahal" (Time)! While their classmates head for college, Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) focus their energies on tormenting those around them - from a goofy convenience store clerk (Renfro) to an eccentric art teacher (Douglas). But when they zero in on an oddball loner (Buscemi) looking for Miss Right, their seemingly innocent meddling threatens to shatter one of their hearts not to mention their lifelong friendship.

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. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:
Wait, this isn't another pointless teen movie!

Well I had heard that this was a good movie. I saw it for 4.99 and decided to get it. During the first 10 minutes I was almost sure I wouldn't like it. It seemed like your average movie made now a days. After a while though I got drawn in to the story. It is about two girls who are best friends. It is the day of their high school graduation. They are a lot alike. They are also planning on moving into a place together. So everything is fine and good. That is until some things happen that make them realize that they are both different people. Some of the things are one of the girls can not keep a job. So she has no money to pay rent. Also, the same girl starts talking to this guy she meets. She sees him selling records and finds out he is a neat guy. Things happen with him and her while her friends has a job and looks for a place to live. There is a lot more to the movie. But I'm not one to give away the story. So, buy it. You can find it so inexpensive. I usually sell movies when I am finished watching them. This one though was so good, it has found a place in my collection.

Also, the soundtrack is really good. It has some older blues stuff. So those who pay attention to that sort of thing, or music lovers. Will enjoy it for that reason as well.

Boring & Bitchy Hipster girls
Two hours of torture. A slow, boring mess that should have been edited down to one hour. Total over-rated crap.

I'm an expat, and this is what I show foreigners who want to know what life in America is like
With over 300 reviews here, I only want to add a comment: I am an American expat and have lived in Southeast Asia for about eight of the last ten years. People here have this Hollywood-ised view of life in America as all affluent and wonderful. They can't understand why I would want to live abroad. My answer is to show them Ghost World. This is what life in America is really like, lots of lonely people living in drab apartments and pursuing their hobbies to make up for their loneliness and isolation, venturing out in cars to strip malls and fast-food eateries. Ghost World is the truest film I know about life in America.

Mediums are for suckers who doesn't know the concept of Value
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! Not everyone will get it. It's funny in a subtle way and you mix it with weirdness and sometimes creepy. I like some of the music in the film, and the colorful clothes. I was disappointed that they haven't put all of the deleted scenes with the DVD. There was a scene with Enid and Josh but they took it out of the film but didn't bother to leave it as one of the deleted scenes. Another deleted scene is on the back of the DVD box where they spend time with Grandmother and that isn't in the movie and it's not in the deleted section. If they did exactly how the screen play goes, then there are a LOT of deleted stuff that I would like to see. This movie is so much fun to watch and there was a time where I had to see this movie everyday because I enjoyed it so much. Even though Scarlett Johansson became a hottie star, but I always thought Thora Birch was Sexier and more Hotter.

2 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:

I know tons of people who esteem Ghost World but I found that it came off as pretentious and not terribly interesting--because the film is a polarizing piece of art, I would recommend (if you want to watch the film) renting before buying.