Ghost World(2002)

:=8)

Ghost Wold is a putry good little indie. It stars Thora Birch(American Beauty) as Enid, a caustic, self-absorbed, 'Seen it-Hated it!" teen who is trying to figure out what to do with her life now that she has graduated high school. She wants to move in with her equally-acerbic best friend, but can't get past the problem of working for money to pay for rent, food, clothing, etc. She and her friend spend most of their time making fun of slackers, posers, and losers, at least until Enid finds a "loser" who fascinates her. Steve Buscemi(Reservoir Dogs) is Seymour, a fast-food chicken manafer who avoids his domineering mother, obsesses over and collects old 78's, and who hasn' had a date in years. Enid sees Seymour as a kindred spirit, and a rather strange relationship develops between the two.

In the meantime, Enid is forced to attend a "remedial art class for retards, fuck-ups and losers"(taught by Illeana Douglas); mooch of the film's humor comes from Enid's conflict with arty pretensions. She tries to fit in, but can't, and in the end Enid flees the city, on a bus to some random destination, without her having learned much about herself or life in general. Such a nihilistic and bitingly sarcastic film is rare these days, even by indie standards, and this cow is unable to name many films(apart from Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness) which have this edge.

The performances are all solid, the film is nicely paced, the soundtrack is marvelous, and the dialogue is wickedly humorous. Enid is a tough character to like; you get the feeling she should have been spanked once or twice by her wilting flower father(Bob Babalan), just so she can get over herself, but her break-down in the last third of the film is genuine and softens her persona cowsiderably. While not a perfect film, the MooCow says check out Ghost World, you won't be disappointed!