I loved Dan Clowes' book (a comic book, sure, but worth ten Dave Eggers atrocities for all that), and I loved Zwigoff's "Crumb." But I had no illusions that this was a match made in heaven -- Clowes' touch is feather-light, building impressionistic clouds out of the quotidian teenage experience, while Zwigoff's great achievement with his famous cartoonist-doc was to dredge meaning out of the notoriously opaque Bob Crumb. And what is the expected result when a dredger meets a cloud?
But "Ghost World" works -- at least two-thirds of the way into the movie. Fortunately, even Zwigoff's and Clowes' worst miscalculation can't spoil the wonderful things they have achieved here.
You know there isn't much plot: Enid and Becky have graduated high school, and they are going to do a lot of Nothing on their way to the next big Something. As in the book, Becky is light and accommodating, Enid dark and rejecting, but they communicate on a level of dismissive teenspeak that this movie captures perfectly. (Clowes has publicly noted the objections of studio dorks who didn't believe that teenage girls talk like Enid and Becky. One is tempted to say that real artists make everything their characters say believable, however factitious. But Clowes also has the real-life rhythms down. He got the surface AND the subtext.)
As in the book, Enid and Becky seem to drift through various experiences till they arrive at their destinies, and for most part you only realize at the moment they're arrived how perfect the resolutions are -- it's like hearing about how an old friend ended up, and after the initial shock, realizing, "Wait -- that makes perfect sense."
Some of the observations of Enid and Becky's surroundings are wonderful, and some are a bit much -- Ileana Douglas' art teacher is laid on a little thick, but I can understand why: she's so funny that few directors would want to rein her performance in.
The near-fatal miscalculation is the resolution of the relationship between Enid and Seymour (ugh, even that name, "See-More"). I won't throw a spoiler, but I will point out that the urge to give this seemingly formless story a through-line via Enid and Seymour was completely understandable -- and should have been resisted by any means necessary. It knocks the central Enid-Becky story completely off-kilter, necessitating that awful, sentimental last scene between them, which the book wisely avoided. I really miss Clowes' original last line -- delivered by Enid, unheard by Becky, but a profound and beautiful summation -- and could have done without the awkward finger-tug that takes its place.
Still, the actors pull it off beautifully. I didn't like the idea of Seymour, but Steve Buscemi is dead solid perfect. Birch and Johansson are more than perfect. The various crackpots and losers that float around them are well-observed (though Bob Balaban might want to retune his ineffectual-loser routine sometime; it's losing steam).
Clinkers and all, I have to recommend this. The dredger did a surprisingly good job with the clouds. Better still, Clowes got some of his unique voice onscreen. I look forward to "Art School Confidential" (and maybe an "Eightball" movie?).
But "Ghost World" works -- at least two-thirds of the way into the movie. Fortunately, even Zwigoff's and Clowes' worst miscalculation can't spoil the wonderful things they have achieved here.
You know there isn't much plot: Enid and Becky have graduated high school, and they are going to do a lot of Nothing on their way to the next big Something. As in the book, Becky is light and accommodating, Enid dark and rejecting, but they communicate on a level of dismissive teenspeak that this movie captures perfectly. (Clowes has publicly noted the objections of studio dorks who didn't believe that teenage girls talk like Enid and Becky. One is tempted to say that real artists make everything their characters say believable, however factitious. But Clowes also has the real-life rhythms down. He got the surface AND the subtext.)
As in the book, Enid and Becky seem to drift through various experiences till they arrive at their destinies, and for most part you only realize at the moment they're arrived how perfect the resolutions are -- it's like hearing about how an old friend ended up, and after the initial shock, realizing, "Wait -- that makes perfect sense."
Some of the observations of Enid and Becky's surroundings are wonderful, and some are a bit much -- Ileana Douglas' art teacher is laid on a little thick, but I can understand why: she's so funny that few directors would want to rein her performance in.
The near-fatal miscalculation is the resolution of the relationship between Enid and Seymour (ugh, even that name, "See-More"). I won't throw a spoiler, but I will point out that the urge to give this seemingly formless story a through-line via Enid and Seymour was completely understandable -- and should have been resisted by any means necessary. It knocks the central Enid-Becky story completely off-kilter, necessitating that awful, sentimental last scene between them, which the book wisely avoided. I really miss Clowes' original last line -- delivered by Enid, unheard by Becky, but a profound and beautiful summation -- and could have done without the awkward finger-tug that takes its place.
Still, the actors pull it off beautifully. I didn't like the idea of Seymour, but Steve Buscemi is dead solid perfect. Birch and Johansson are more than perfect. The various crackpots and losers that float around them are well-observed (though Bob Balaban might want to retune his ineffectual-loser routine sometime; it's losing steam).
Clinkers and all, I have to recommend this. The dredger did a surprisingly good job with the clouds. Better still, Clowes got some of his unique voice onscreen. I look forward to "Art School Confidential" (and maybe an "Eightball" movie?).
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