25 Cult Movies You Must See Before You Die
6. Ghost World
Comic book adaptations are the hottest possible property in Hollywood right now, but they tend to be more of the huge action spectacle variety. Terry Zwigoff's adaptation of Daniel Clowes' off-beat indie comic is a much smaller, more intimate story, as best friends Enid and Rebecca stroll aimlessly through their tedious suburban home town.
Enid, played by the missing-in-action Thora Birch, rages against the tedium by embracing every sub-culture that comes along: dying her hair green to get the “original 1977 punk look” and befriending Steve Buscemi's lonely, misanthropic blues record collector. Scarlett Johansson's Rebecca, meanwhile, drifts away as she starts to settle down and be normal.
Zwigoff manages to piece a proper narrative together from Clowes' comic book vignettes, and gets the final, definitive word on the existential angst of Generation X. Birch carries the film mostly on her shoulders, and does a great job. Buscemi is a top-notch sad sack, and unlike most escapist teen fantasies it has a realistically downbeat ending.