Ghost World

2001 dramatic comedy

Rating: 13/20

Plot: Two really obnoxious girls are graduating from high school and have plans to withdraw from society and get an apartment together. Along the way, they decide to be really mean to a lonely weird-looking man whose sin was apparently placing a personal ad wishing to connect with a woman he met at the airport. The girl who isn't Scarlett Johansson winds up befriending the socially awkward record collector, and the two girls begin to drift apart.

Here's an example of one of those movies I find it impossible to love nearly as much as everybody else seems to. I just can't like the characters (Buscemi's being the exception) enough. No redeeming qualities which make me want to root for either of them. And although there's a quirkiness and some details that will stick with me, the gripes it makes against society (I think) come across as art-schoolish and juvenile. I'd watch this as a television show and would likely even like how it ended. It seems to me that with the confusing symbolism and unclear message, this is really open to interpretation and that there is probably more than meets the eye, but I've seen this twice now and wasn't grabbed either time. My brother really likes this movie but since he doesn't like The Color of Pomegranates, I'm not sure his opinion can be trusted.