If you lived in New York or Los Angeles on July 20, 2001, and were the type of person who loved to make underhanded remarks about friends, strangers and even family members behind their back -- and even to their face -- then the chances are good you were first in line to see Terry Zwigoff's caustic comedy of misanthropy, Ghost World. Based on the comic by Daniel Clowes, the film took too-cool-for-school ethos to another level, offered Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson their best-ever screen roles (true), and even turned Steve Buscemi into a romantic lead. Well, sorta. Let's celebrate this little oddity by remembering some great one-liners -- and a related-but-not music video by Aimee Mann -- ahead.
First, the funny! I unfortunately never saw Ghost World in theaters, but fell in love after stumbling upon the film on DVD. (And now even own it.) How could you not when it features dialogue like so:
· "I liked her so much better when she was an alcoholic crack addict. She gets in one car wreck and all of a sudden she's Little Miss Perfect and everyone loves her."
· "I suppose things are better now, but... I don't know, it's complicated. People still hate each other but they just know how to hide it better. Or something."
· "Well, I have to admit that things are really starting to look up for me since my life turned to shit."
· "Hi, can I get a medium 7-Up?" "Medium? Why sir, do you not know that for a mere 25 cents more you can purchase a large beverage? And you know, I'm only telling because we're such good friends, medium is really only for suckers who don't know the concept of value."
· "He'd better watch out or he'll get AIDS when he date-rapes her."
· "Everyone's too stupid!"
And so on. Basically, I could probably quote the entire script -- for which Clowes and Zwigoff were nominated for an Oscar -- since it's all so bitter, caustic and hilarious. When your friendly Movieline staffers were discussing the anniversary of Ghost World earlier today, Louis Virtel mentioned how the source comic was also inspiration for Aimee Mann's 2000 song and video "Ghost World." Check that out here (embedding disabled, boo!) and see if you think it does a better job of nailing Clowes work.
When you're done with that, leave any thoughts or remembrances about Ghost World in the comments below.