By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Remember that point of the program Jurassic Park about extracting dinosaur blood from ancient mosquitoes trapped in amber millions of years ago? Certain films are like that, and revisiting them is like stepping into memories from a long time ago. When you revisit these movies, you get an unusually reassuring wave of nostalgia. You get a warm-blooded touch of who you were when you first watched the movie and (at least, until the credits roll) you bring a version of yourself, happy and carefree, into the heady chaos of the present day.
For me, the best example of this situation is that Ghost World (2001). It's a movie I liked when I'm a lot like its characters: I'm too smart and too smart-mouthed for my own good, I hope enough wit and sarcasm can hide the fact that I was. scared about figuring out what to do with my life. It is painful to return to the film with the sobering knowledge that growth is a lie. You never find out exactly what you should do or who you should be. But for anyone who wants to escape to the past with the smartest, sexiest movie you've ever seen, Ghost World now streaming for free on Tubi.
Sick, Grad World
The foundation of Ghost World that two teenage girls (played by Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson) have just graduated high school and don't know what to do with the rest of their lives. Young Enid has to finish a make-up arts class, but she and her toxic friend still find time to play a depressed man (played by Steve Buscemi) who sends out a personal ad trying to reach a woman he just met. This creates an unlikely friendship between Enid and a man twice and a half her age, but his reckless drama eventually threatens to destroy both of their lives.
Ghost World is a great adaptation of Daniel Clowes' comic of the same name. As such, the movie lends itself to a very breezy, episodic structure. While Enid's strange friendship with sad sack Seymour is the narrative anchor, the movie finds more time to show her strange, episodic journey with Rebecca. Sometimes, this includes watching a shirtless dude practice his nunchuck skills and shocking people with a Batgirl hat he snagged at the local sex shop. At other times, it involves scaring people with outrageous profanity. Much of this dialogue would get you instantly fired up today, but for Gen X and Millennial audiences, that's just part of the film's quirky, throwback charm.
How are the children?
While Ghost World it's written in a flawless, pitch-perfect manner that brings each crazy character to life. There's an excellent selection of supporting actors, including charismatic actor Patrick Fischler as a video store clerk and comedy legend David Cross as a vinyl enthusiast. Illeana Douglas, on the other hand, does an excellent job of playing the kind of teacher you love to hate. In the end, the late, great Brad Renfro is a perfect audience as a friend and a shop assistant who bounces awkwardly between the antics of his two bad friends.
Speaking of which, bad relationships at the heart of Ghost World it's more believable because of the chemistry between Thora Birch and Scarlett Johannsenn. Young ScarJo is compelling as a young woman trying to build her future with a friend still stuck in the past. As our happy lead, Thora Birch quickly confirms that American beauty He has never been wrong and is one of the most talented actors in Hollywood. Surrounded by such a strange young man, Buscemi dials down some of his usual weirdness, allowing him to personify every distraught person caught in the strange, ever-unpredictable miasma of teenage melodrama.
The Teenage Wasteland
Part of why Ghost World it works so well that it is anti-upcoming story. The film is a whirlwind in its emotions, careening from restless angst over trivial matters to existential ennui at the drop of a hat. In that way, it shows the plight of its young characters who now realize that they must answer the question they have been hearing. years: what do you want to do with the rest of your life? Like all young people, however, they cannot plan for the future because they do not know who they are todaywhich gives the film an electric energy that permeates even the simplest scenes.
If you still have trouble understanding what Ghost World it's about, don't worry: that's a feature, not a bug. Director Terry Zwigoff (who would bring us endless insults Santa is bad) perfectly captured the vibe of Daniel Clowes' comedy that this film has the masses. You can enjoy it as a time capsule of your lost youth, the perfect balm for the aches (and not just the ones behind you) of aging. But you can also enjoy it as a sad meditation on the intersection of gender, youth, and identity. Alternatively, you can simply enjoy it to find a place after the darkest scene, strange jokes that were once included in the film.
Do you want to set foot in the simple world of existentialist Millennial whimsy? Remember the unique fear of planning your whole life when you can't even plan your weekend? Maybe you just want to lose your sh*t to one Thora Birch stinger after another. For all these reasons and more, now is the perfect time to watch Ghost World to Thubi. You can stream this upcoming anxiety movie for free on Tubi. Your savings may one day fuel your true passion: being the kind of vinylhead so weird that the local youth treat you like a zoo attraction waiting to be put down.
