D.J.: So! Ghost World, eh? did you get a chance to watch it all?

Dustin: Yes, I managed to take that one down... and I gotta say -- this is the second flick in a row that the readers have voted for that is generally centered around the angst of not having a purpose, or identity, or... whatever. Our readers must be some kind of wet blankets.

D.J.: I think it's our generation. Me included. For the most part, we're a bunch of aimless complainers.

Dustin: See, I think that's bullshit. When I complain, it's with deadly purpose and precision.

D.J.: Heh, heh... (notices readers) Oh, hello there. How long have you been reading? Before or after the penile implant stuff? ... After? Crap. Shouldn’t have brought it up… Er... well, then, welcome to another "Spoiler Warning" adventure where young erstwhile Dustin and I chat about movies. As Dustin mentioned, you reader types voted we review Ghost World, and here we are.

Dustin: Yes, thanks. Although, really, it had Scarlett Johansson, so I do thank you for that.

D.J.: It was a YOUNG Scarlett Johansson, though. Ya' pervert. 2001 - she was 17. Not quite legal. Naughty, naughty, Dustin!

Dustin: (checks IMDB) Oh, uh. Well, the breasts add about two years on camera. I was duped. Duped, ya’ hear me! YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE.

D.J.: Keep your hands where I can see 'em! (Seriously, please keep your hands where I can see them.) Okay, look... mind if I get the synopsis out of the way so we can then go on to completely derail this thing as per our usual?

Dustin: Oh, please do. I'm glad you offered. I think you've finally realized that I hate summarizing things.

D.J.: And you've finally realized that I'm easy to take advantage of... (not in THAT way, in the "doing the dirty work" way... and in... THAT way... ahem...)

Dustin: Yes, you are a lantern-jawed Jenna Jameson of the literary world.

D.J.: And with that frightening visual... a synopsis of Ghost World: Based upon cartoonist Daniel Cowles' comics (adapted for the film by him with director Terry Zwigoff), this is the story of two happily "unpopular" girls, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson), graduating high school as best friends but finding themselves drifting apart once entering the "real world." They walk around, sarcastically commenting on all the cookie cutter people they see, but while Enid keeps trying harder and harder to be edgy and different, she sees Rebecca begin to get assimilated. A major rift is formed between them when a prank on a lonely record collector, Seymour (Steve Buscemi), goes slightly awry and Enid befriends him. While Rebecca follows their agreed upon post-high school plan, getting a job and looking for an apartment they can live in together, Enid not only has to take a summer art class to officially graduate, she also starts spending more and more time with Seymour. Extremely dry hilarity and low key drama ensues.

Dustin: Dry hilarity? Did you really just say that? I thought that modern medicine had wiped out the scourge of dry hilarity years ago.

D.J.: Nope, it still exists in some parts of California and Malaysia.

Dustin: It's a silent killer. Someone should start a foundation, or a cause or something. At any rate, this film was stricken with a case of dry hilarity. It had its good days, it had its bad days, but ultimately, the film was ended by the scourge of dry hilarity.

D.J.: See, I enjoy the lack of moisture in this movie's funny. Let me get out of the way that I really like this movie and used to own it until I ended up selling it under dubious circumstances.

Dustin: Now, to be fair -- I'm putting on airs that I didn't really care for the work in question, which, upon reviewing my commentaries as of late, seems to be a trend -- and I should say that I genuinely did like the film. Didn't love it, just liked it. I was generally put off by the feeling that I was left with after the conclusion.

D.J.: Yes, the conclusion (or lack thereof) is one of my two major problems with this movie.

Dustin: Yup. I'd liken it to eating a box of cereal that's supposed to have some kind of prize inside, but then you finish the box, toss it in the trash, dig it out when you realized that you never saw a prize, and end up fuming when you can't find a prize at all, just an old banana peel. It's that kind of feeling.

D.J.: Yeah, but let us not talk about the ending at the BEGINNING(ish) of our "review." What were your initial impressions? Other than, "Mmm... young (YOUNG) ladies..." What did you think whilst watching the flick?

Dustin: It seemed to suffer from a bit of malaise, but then again, if I'd directed it I would've paced it the same way because it's representative of the mood of the characters. The characterizations themselves are pretty good, and I will always give a tip o' the cap to Steve Buscemi. This was good role for him, plus he doesn't even have to die like usual.

D.J.: Buscemi actually LOOKS like a Daniel Clowes drawing. He, like everyone else in the flick, was a great casting choice. There isn't a bad performance in the whole picture. Everyone seems to really fit their parts. Thora Birch is pitch perfect as Enid. What the hell happened to here? Scarlettt's all the supporting character in this (and isn't in it enough), but now she's the star. What about Thora? She's a good actress. What the fuck happened, DGrove???

Dustin: Anything that I would contribute to this line of conversation would be unfairly biased towards Scarlett, so there's not really any point in asking me that. Now, if we were doing another film and the question was Thora Birch vs. Mena Suvari... different story.

D.J.: I'm not talking "sexually," you deviant. I'm just saying that she's a good actress who did a good job in this (and American Beauty not long before it), then... poof. Gone. It's weird.

Dustin: There's no accounting for people's unknown choices... or representation. Although to a similar point, Mena Suvari also disappeared from the face of the earth as well. She was supposed to be the next greatest thing since the thing that came after sliced bread.

D.J.: Well, Thora's terrific in this movie. So is Ms. Johansson, but the way she sort of disappears near the middle only to pop up once in a while is my other complaint (along with the vague ending) of this movie. It might've been stronger if it had been more about the TWO friends, though I guess it is from Enid's point of view. Still, it seems to get a little too caught up in the Seymour business... Which, I mean, Buscemi's good, and I can understand a bit of middle-age-ish writer/director wish fulfillment in some of it, with Enid thinking she's fallen for him at one point while another woman, his own age yet still entirely too attractive for his character, is dating him. Did you think this way at all?

Dustin: I think that you need Scarlettt's character to drift off, simply as counterpoint to the situation of Thora's character. It brings it into greater relief. As to your point about the attraction to Buscemi -- again, there's no accounting for taste. Perhaps his character had some kind of gravitas. The more I think about that statement, the more absurd it seems to me.

D.J.: Fucked up kids, I guess. If he were rich I'd understand. Anyway, this movie, like Enid, is all kinds of sarcastic, but there's heart to it. I do appreciate the way she ends up feeling bad with the joke she and Rebecca play on Seymour, answering his personals ad, then having him show up to that diner for a blind date just to watch and make fun. It's fun but so damn sad, and Enid realizing that and trying to help him shows some goodness in her, no matter how misguided it becomes. I'm not sure, as my memory sucks, but I don't know if this Seymour stuff is nearly as big of a plot point in the comic. Might not even be in it. I honestly can't remember.

Dustin: So, you mentioned that two things troubled you about this movie -- was the other something about the adaptation?

D.J.: Pay attention to me! That's all I ever want!!! 1.) The ending. 2.) Ms. Johansson’s near disappearing act.

Dustin: Shut the fuck up, Donny!

D.J.: We should review the Big Lebowski at some point. Damn how I love that movie!

Dustin: You see, talking about Steve Buscemi made me wish that John Goodman did reviews with us.

D.J.: Dude, I wish John Goodman would hang out with us. It'd be so cool do see him yell at someone. Dustin, you're out of your element!

Dustin: So, as something that's seen just the "movie" version of this story, would it be beneficial for me to also read the graphic novel? Or would it serve merely as a curiosity at this point?

D.J.: The comic is really good, but it's a different animal from the movie. It was published in an anthology called Eightball, then collected. It's not so much a linear story as a series of shorts starring Enid and Rebecca and many of the other characters. The movie deviates from it A LOT, but I guess it had to, and since Cowles was so involved in the movie, I guess it's okay. It's got a similar tone, so if you like that from the movie, you should like it from the comics. And the art is really good in a creepy way. I dig it and might re-read it now that you got me talking about it...

Dustin: Well, there it is then. Here's a lime green ribbon for you. Put it on.

D.J.: ... Should... should I know what the fuck you're talking about?

Dustin: I made it while you were talking... the lime green ribbon means that you support a cure for Dry Hilarity. When you wear it, people will see it and think about how they're ignoring the silent killer that takes the lives of so many of our young people.

D.J.: Oh my goodness. You're special. Really. You are.