Review of Ghost World (2001) by Elise K — 24 Nov 2013

Terry Zwigoff gives an accurate interpretation of two teen outcasts who have a bleak perspective of the world. The way the movie began with their high school graduation really paves the way for the rest of the film and displays that awkward transition most of us go though from high school to the real world.

What I liked most about this film is the amount of mischief there was in the two main characters, Enid and Rebecca. I think their mischief was a result of their age, their negativity towards people in general and the fact that they were just extremely bored with the stagnant suburban lifestyle they had been living throughout their high school years.

You can tell that they expect moving into an apartment together will be an easy task, which they are proven wrong. The story of the film takes a turn when Steve Buscemi's character, Seymor, is introduced.

Even though Seymor is a stereotypical middle-aged man, he brings intrigue and excitement into the film because of how Enid really takes an interest in him. We get to know his character see his character grow because of Enid, when normally a character like his would easily go unacknowledged.

Not many people would want to get to know a person like Seymor because of his outer appearance and the way he comes off to people, but an unexpected character like Enid brings out the best in him, which made me appreciate the film even more so.

Coming-of-age films like this tend to be popular because they are indefinitely relatable, and you get to see the writer of the film's take on growing up and finding ones self. Enid and Rebecca's choice not to go to college after high school could've also been a result of their bland high school experience.

They want to grow up fast, which is normal for a teenager fresh out of high school. A critique that I have on the film is that the dialogue and script is a bit repetitive even with unimportant characters, I saw them reciting words or lines already mentioned or said by some of the main characters or maybe the word choice is symbolic of the repetitiveness that Enid and Rebecca experience throughout their daily lives and are trying to escape.

This film also sheds a positive light on misfit types of people. People like that tend to bother others, but Enid and Rebecca sort of have an obsession with those kinds of people because of they don't encounter them often and because they are misfits themselves.

I like the positive and re-occurring theme of the film, which is not to judge a book by its cover. Too often we don't get to know people and their entirety because we are so quick to judge. Even though Enid and Rebecca don't judge but accept the odd people they encounter in the film, they still have a negative attitude towards most of everyone else in their city that they think are uncultured and ignorant.

Though this may seem the opposite of judging a book by its cover, it's still the same thing because they are still making assumptions on others without really getting to know them. If they didn't have this attitude throughout the film, I think the film would have a completely different storyline and plot.