Ghost World: the sequal to Zombieland, I'll bet

There's a reason Ghost World didn't become more than a cult favorite and its this: a documentary filmmaker was tapped to direct. Yes, he knows comics, and yes, he knows reality, and those things are reflected here. In fact, one of my favorite elements of the film was the layer of unnecessary detail throughout the film. Beds creaked metallicly whenever anyone moved on them. A champagne cork loudly hit and bounced all over the floor. The streets looked dirty and boring. And the characters, of course, don't think anything of these things. Because to them this film is reality.

But those are moments between the events in the film. And the events were flat. I felt like I was watching an awkward student film, where the rehearsals where filmed and used. Characters can be awkward, that's fine, but actors shouldn't be. The performances made clear to me that Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansen (both of whom I like and would probably marry) have a single layer to what they can do. These people are not "all of America reflected in the meandering, jaded suburban youth" or whatever the comic (that the film is based on) probably conveyed. They are naive, self-aware, self-important brats who would sooner be cruel to alleviate their boredom than actually ask themselves who they are and why they aren't doing anything with their lives. Wait, I guess that is America. Shit. Well, still, the performances were really flat.

And so to were the "quirks" that made the characters so "different". Maybe it all seemed very fringe in the late nineties, but Ghost World seemed way to proud of Steve Buscemi's out-of-print, old-timey vinyl collection. That subculture really isn't very uncommon, and when Buscemi's character is just sort of blasé about his 1930's art and music collection, I couldn't keep my eyes from rolling. Not that Steve Buscemi didn't do an awesome job... I could watch him grocery shop. And the most interesting part of the film was when he's rebuked by Thora Birch's character, an we watch him try to reason out the logic of an emotional teenager. But then the resolution of the film was to have a mystery bus (oooo spooky!) pick Birch up and drive her on to her next stage in life. Wow, symbolism!

I don't know... its wasn't horrible, and it wasn't even forgettable, really. I guess it just seemed tacky. Or maybe the fandom for the film seems tacky. In another decade it'll just seem quaint.

Point, at least, for an uncredited Teri Garr. She should have hooked up with Steve Buscemi. Although I'd hate to do that to Bob Balaban... It's fun to say "Balaban". Go ahead, do it.