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Ghost World

Play trailer Poster for Ghost World R Released Jun 16, 2001 1h 51m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
93% Tomatometer 165 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
The story of neo-cool Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) who, faced with graduation from high school, take a hard look at the world they wryly observe and decide what they really want. When Enid takes an interest in the offbeat Seymour (Steve Buscemi) and Rebecca focuses her attention on their mutual romantic fixation Josh (Brad Renfro), the girls' friendship is forever changed.
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Ghost World

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Critics Consensus

With acerbic wit, Terry Zwigoff fashions Daniel Clowes' graphic novel into an intelligent, comedic trip through deadpan teen angst.

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Critics Reviews

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Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal The greatest distinction of "Ghost World" is its singular spirit. Here's a dark, deadpan comedy about alienated kids that manages to be smart, surpassingly odd, extremely funny and mysteriously endearing at the same time. Apr 12, 2013 Full Review David Denby The New Yorker See it for Birch's hostile stare and Johansson's devastating monotone. Apr 12, 2013 Full Review Scott Tobias AV Club Most of Ghost World is funny, but the laughs are inextricably tied to the painful alienation and self-loathing that comes with living on society's fringes. Jul 14, 2010 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand [Director Terry Zwigoff] has a gift for understated moments of wry humor and a sensitivity to the ennui surrounding the lost Generation Y girls so busy sniping and skewering the “losers” around them to find any direction in their own floating lives May 6, 2023 Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight This kind of subtle moral isn’t as readily available to most audiences, but should appeal to the younger generation who are strapped with the burden of carrying society into a new century filled with strife, misery and great opportunity. Rated: 3/4 Dec 20, 2022 Full Review Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine Ghost World remains pretty special in its old-boned melancholy. Dec 1, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blu B A Comedy Classic. Really good acting across the board. Birch & Buscemi got great chemistry and are both really good in this. The characters in general are given really good dialouge and great offbeat quirky humor that consistently works. The cinematography and soundtrack is solid too. The direction is kinda basic, looks like a 00's era film more than a 70's film, and relies a lot on the colorful characters that gives this life. It's bright, has unique asetics with the 70's style backdrop, but doesn't beat you over the head reminding you of the time it takes place. Everything else is really well done. Enid is such a likeable, immature, and human character and made even more interesting with Rebecca & Seymour. It can be a bit jumpy setting up the relationships with Enid's father, rebecca, Seymour, and herself. But once the relationship with Seymour becomes more established it really finds it's rhythm and never lets up. This is about how immature it is to see others who are "boring" & "normal" as beneath you and eventually seeing them as heroes for doing the tough thing called adulthood. It also is bittersweet as you realize another facet of that is growing apart from ones that were a big part of your life in high school as you come of age as well and how that's not a bad thing. It's scary but the courage to do it is given by those "boring" everyday heroes. Anyone who is a fan of quirky comedies, coming of age stories, the director, indie flicks or any actors in this should give it a try. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/02/25 Full Review jacob c Delightfully quirky and surprisingly thoughtful, Ghost World is at once funny and affecting, cleverly combining witty, bone-dry humour and reflective poignancy. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/25/25 Full Review alan g Can't get excited about slow moving neo hipster movie. The movie and not cool actors think they are too cool for this world. Snarky, depreciating observations are not cool. Neither is this movie. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/03/25 Full Review Jens B In every scene, new, quirky characters come into the picture, even if it's just the fat man with his McMenu in the background. The acting is sublime, the photography brilliantly shows off the detailed and playful set design. The limbo between graduating from school and adulthood is portrayed in such a universally relatable way that I could easily identify with two outsiders in LA. In addition, "Ghost World" is a remarkable pop-cultural testimony of the USA shortly before September 11th that makes you nostalgic. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/25 Full Review Matthew C Almost 25 years old, Ghost World still stands this time from when I first saw it on dvd back in 2001. One of the my fave films of all time, great cast and acting, and some well written dialogue. As well as the film, I would recommend the Graphic Novel by Daniel Clowes. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/12/25 Full Review Bulgantamir B The plot was instructive Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/08/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Ghost World

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Movie Info

Synopsis The story of neo-cool Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) who, faced with graduation from high school, take a hard look at the world they wryly observe and decide what they really want. When Enid takes an interest in the offbeat Seymour (Steve Buscemi) and Rebecca focuses her attention on their mutual romantic fixation Josh (Brad Renfro), the girls' friendship is forever changed.
Director
Terry Zwigoff
Producer
Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith
Screenwriter
Terry Zwigoff, Daniel Clowes, Daniel Clowes
Distributor
United Artists
Production Co
Jersey Films, United Artists
Rating
R (Strong Language|Some Sexual Content)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 16, 2001, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.2M
Runtime
1h 51m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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