Ghost World

[hal9000]

I think the movie could've done without that scene altogether.

The author of the graphic novel told the director that the bus scene did not translate to cinema, and hated the note the movie ended on, but the director wanted to leave it in.

Scarlett was a rather homely teen actress. In Ghost World she was plain and gawky and seemed rather dull to boot. She looked so lovely in The Island and Match Point that I can hardly believe that unattractive kid grew into someone considerably more charismatic and bright.

[hal9000]

I have found her homely up until very recently, maybe the past year. She didn't look as good as screen as a kid, even from Manny and Lo onward, becaue she had comparatively small, inexpressive eyes which constrasted with her strong mouth and large nose. Her face lost a lot of definition in the top half as a teen, where as now she is has a few more years growth and is far more careful with makeup and lighting. It actually quite difficult for a young person to pull of the bored/wordly/mumbly thing in a believeable manner (Scarlett still doesn't do it well now) and putting that with the blank face and unflattering lighting in Ghost World, I really didn't think she the hot one of the two girls, which she was supposed to be.

Yet I do agree that the girls, in fact, the entire cast, of Ghost World were refreshing normal looking. I understand why many men found Rebecca attractive - she certainly was not hideous, had a proportional figure and was far more personable than Enid, but otherwise Scarlett was a cinematic black hole.

[chonies]

I have to agree with Moldy. Becky's character was more sympathetic because Enid was antagonizing her, although in some ways inadvertently. They had had a plan for after high school, and Enid bailed. Becky kept trying to include her, but Enid wasn't playing along, and in fact ends up mocking Becky, "ooh! your own apartment! what is this, junior high?" It's sometimes difficult to tell if Enid is meant to be the sympathetic character (oh, poor misunderstood Enid!) despite the annoyance factor, or what.

I really like the movie, but I do keep thinking that if she hadn't been such a passive-aggressive whiner they could shop someplace besides IKEA and Crate and Barrel for their apartment stuff.

[hussypurr]

A few months ago there was a news story about websites where suicidal people discuss planning to kill themselves, and it was mentioned that "taking the bus" among these people was slang for committing suicide.

I didn't know anything about "Ghost World" the comic or the film when I saw the DVD, but just on my own I read the ending as a symbol for Enid committing suicide. This is probably because I had a very Enid-like friend who took her own life a few years ago. But I think it's open to interpretation. It could just be the filmmaker's way of saying "Okay, we're finished with Enid's story now," or "You get the idea, she's on the bus to Nowheresville," or perhaps that she's tired of living in Ghost World and has decided to grow up and change her life, and so she's moving on.

A friend lent her DVD of this to me. She doesn't own many DVDs so I was sort of wondering why this one would interest her, as it's not her usual thing. It really, really got to me because I was SO Enid-like when I was her age, and to some extent still am. I should ask my friend if I remind her of Enid, or whether perhaps she sees us both as Enids (she's a visual artist, and like Enid has an uncanny knack for choosing her surroundings with a certain idiosyncratic funky retro style.)

[chiqui]

I loved the movie, but a few weeks after seeing it, the scene where Enid and Becky go shopping at the Pottery Barn/Pier One type store strikes a false note. They're poor high school grads with minimum-wage jobs, getting by without help from their families -- they'd be more likely to shop at Goodwill.

[chonies]

chiqui said:

I loved the movie, but a few weeks after seeing it, the scene where Enid and Becky go shopping at the Pottery Barn/Pier One type store strikes a false note. They're poor high school grads with minimum-wage jobs, getting by without help from their families -- they'd be more likely to shop at Goodwill.

I read that scene as something I would totally do, though. Becky has a basket and is buying really cheap things, like it's some sort of comfort that she can shop at Crate and Barrel, even if she isn't getting anything big. It seems that a few new "classy" elements offset the fact that everything else came from thrift, garage sales or a dumpster. Same thing with the IKEA curtains--they probably only cost about US$20, but still the idea of buying in a store things that are new and yours a) is a thrill I still get even when I buy something dumb like an ironing board and, b) illustrates Enid's meltdown when she calls Becky immature because of the eighth-grade-own-apartment fantasy.

Also, since the coffee-shop job is probably Becky's first full-time employment, she might be dazzled by the immediate flush of new cash and has yet to realize it might not go as far as she thinks it does.