Ghost World
Ghost World ★★★½ 2001 (R)
Zwigoff makes his feature debut with this dark comedy that contains echoes of his documentary “Crumb.” Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) are not your typical acid-tongued teenage outsiders. Instead of struggling to fit in, they wear their contempt for the empty mall culture that surrounds them like a badge of honor. On a whim, the girls answer a personal ad from Seymour, a middle-aged schmoe who collects old records. Seymour, whose personal quirks are similar to those of former Zwigoff documentary subject R. Crumb, is also baffled by modern culture and Enid is eventually drawn to him. She decides to help him in his attempt to find a woman, developing a special yet strange bond with him. Swinging from bleak to hilarious, the plot refuses to follow your standard romantic formula. That would be, like, so mainstream. Based on the underground comics of Daniel Clowes. 111m/C VHS, DVD . US Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas, Bob Balaban, Teri Garr, Stacey Travis, Dave Sheridan, Brian George; D: Terry Zwigoff; W: Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff; C: Alfonso Beato; M: David Kitay. Ind. Spirit ‘02: Support. Actor (Buscemi); N.Y. Film Critics ‘01: Support. Actor (Buscemi); Natl. Soc. Film Critics ‘01: Support. Actor (Buscemi).