Film review - Ghost World

OK. Im not sure but I think I understand whats happened this movie month. I dont have experience of running studios, and I know Im deeply cynical about these things, but I think what we have here is the release of movies to waft in the wake of Harry Potters cloak. Harry Potter is undoubtedly doing the best business and nothing else that seeks the same universal audience, be it childrens flick or a space odyssey, would want to enter the ring to fight it.

So, rather than put out another wizard film as they would normally do against lesser opposition, this month sees the release of some odd little films that probably wouldnt do that well in any other month.

Some have squeezed out early (The Others, still showing). The odd one may come out late, gambling on the possibility that having got you into the swing of going to the cinema for HP youll fancy another night out for a comedy ( see Zoolander next week). But, on the whole, this month sees the films released that will attract the cult viewers, the serious film fan or in some cases those who find that Harry Potter is sold out and may as well see something however awful (Ghosts on Mars).

Why do these also ran movies get made? I hear you rant. Well simple really. Not all movies can make a hundred million dollars, but they dont necessarily lose money just because they didnt get an audience in the cinema. Many are in profit before they are released due to presales. Some are made purely on the strength of those involved (all Woody Allen movies), some just turn out to be worse than the studio imagined and if they were expensive they have to get released some time.

But, sometimes, months like this allow some really great little movies to have their moment in the screen press. Most of us will only go and see Harry Potter once after all (OK twice.) Heres a little gem that I think would stand alone even in the busiest month, but I definitely feel this is the perfect time of year to see Ghost World, although its not actually about ghosts. I feel that as we all switch to the winter layers, a weird little tale of our modern urban existence is just what we need - almost as though the need for hot drinks goes hand in hand with a good debate over this script or that character.

Anyway, Ghost World is the screen adaptation of Daniel Clowes cult classic novel and the debut movie from John Malkovichs new production company. It stars Thora Birch as Enid and Scarlett Johansson as Rebecca, two really disaffected teens, desperate for the freedoms that being teenagers wont allow them. They are not only deeply cynical but also bored, and being gifted with admirable intelligence they turn their attention to griping at the world about them. Then Enid finds Seymour (played by the unendingly faultless Steve Buscemi), a brilliantly odd ball record collector, and she becomes so fascinated with his search for love that soon she is stalking him.

Ghost World is an acidic examination of the world we live in. But, obviously, through the eyes of self-loathing teenage girls everything seems worse than it is. This, thanks to an unusually good (tight) script, breeds the humour in this teen comedy that has as much in common with American Pie as Harry Potter and Rambo. At times, the cynical humour topples off the tightrope it walks into an abyss that is frankly too sulky and desperate. But, for the most part, experienced documentary maker Terry Zwigoff keeps it spinning along. It looks like what it is - a clever American independent bred piece of satirical filmmaking. Whether it does justice to Clowes novel is for you to debate.