Admittedly low key and not for all tastes, Ghost World has its charm. Anyone who has ever felt themselves intellectually superior will find something appealing in Enid, thoughtfully portrayed by a shuffling Thora Birch. Enid is the eternal "pretty girl's best friend" to Scarlett Johannson's Becky, a bored but pretty blond who is devoted and committed to sharing a post high school bachelorette pad with her oldest and dearest friend. The girls are two sides of the same weird coin which begins to split when Enid stalks and befriends Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a much older and very single man. Enid takes on Seymour's datelessness as a challenge and vows to find him a woman. There is palpable sexual tension between the two and - experience tells us- this can't be good. Even so, the film is off beat enough to make you hope against hope that they will find happiness with each other. I won't spoil it for you.

Buscemi is at his brown polyester best as the music junky, Seymour, but it is Birch's understanding portrayal of a smug eighteen year old with intimacy issues that makes Ghost World work. Of course, a well written script and amazing supporting cast including Bob Balaban and Ileanna Douglass certainly helps. The dialogue of teenage girls has a very specific sound and Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff's script captures every nuance. There is no guess work about the characters' desires but there is enough respect for the audience not to spell it out or beat you over the head with it- something rare in this day and age.

The humor peppered throughout the film is smart and very dry, mirroring the attitude of its main character. Of particular comic note is Douglass's performance as the summer school art teacher who subjects her students (including Enid) to a video entitled "Mirror, Father, Mirror" and appreciates the social significance of an art piece consisting of a tampon in a tea cup.