Ghost World (2001)
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Two cynical teenage outcasts navigate the complexities of friendship and burgeoning desires during the summer following their high school graduation.
The story
Following their high school graduation, cynical social outcasts Enid and Rebecca spend their summer together with no clear plans for the future. While Rebecca is more popular with boys, Enid is a talented artist whose work is dismissed by her teacher. The girls' dynamic shifts when Enid becomes fascinated by a lonely, middle-aged man named Seymour. After a prank phone call leads to an unexpected connection, Enid becomes determined to improve Seymour's romantic life. As the girls navigate their shared space and individual interests, their friendship begins to face a significant rift as their paths start to diverge.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Enid and Rebecca, two cynical outcasts, spend the summer after graduation together. Enid's art teacher, Roberta, refuses to grant her diploma until she attends a remedial class. The girls encounter Seymour, a lonely man who responds to a personal ad. Enid initiates a prank call to him, but eventually develops a genuine sympathy for him and begins helping him find dates. This pursuit causes a rift between Enid and Rebecca. Enid's attempt to help Seymour's career backfires when a controversial poster she uses in class leads to her losing a scholarship and Seymour being fired. Following a series of mishaps, including a physical altercation at a convenience store that leaves Seymour hospitalized, Enid reconciles with Rebecca. The film concludes with Enid boarding an out-of-service bus, fulfilling a childhood fantasy of running away, while Seymour attempts to start over with his mother.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 112
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Terry Zwigoff
- Writers
- Daniel Clowes · screenplay; Terry Zwigoff · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Thora Birch · Enid; Scarlett Johansson · Rebecca; Brad Renfro; Illeana Douglas; Steve Buscemi · Seymour
- Genres
- comedy; black comedy; independent; coming-of-age
- Themes
- alienation; adolescence; friendship; consumer culture
- Tone and mood
- deadpan; cynical
- Premise and plot tags
- buddy film; coming-of-age; black comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1990s comic book
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim and has become a cult film, praised for its wit and performances despite having limited box office impact.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 93% · scale: percentage · review count: 166; Metacritic · score: 91 · scale: 100 · review count: 32
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Adapted Screenplay · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was included in the Criterion Collection in 2017.; It was ranked as one of the top comic book movies by MSN Movies.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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