This Quirky Comic Book Movie Kicked Off a New Era of Scarlett Johansson’s Career

Scarlett Johansson is easily one of the most successful movie stars of her generation, and one of the few leading actresses who can inspire interest in an upcoming project based upon her name alone. Johansson certainly did her due diligence making blockbuster films, as her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe resulted in one of the best female superheroes of all-time. However, Johansson has also been heralded for her more serious work, having earned Academy Award nominations for her powerful performances in Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story. One of the most impressive aspects of Johansson’s career is that she managed to elude the “child actor curse” that haunted many young stars after their breakout roles.

Child actors can often struggle to be taken seriously as “adult stars” in the aftermath of their breakout success, as audiences struggle to accept them taking on mature roles. Macaulay Culkin and Haley Joel Osment may have dominated the box office in their youth, but their truly memorable roles in the subsequent years were few and far between. Johansson certainly had many landmark roles during her youth, including appearances in Rob Reiner’s family comedy North, the tragic Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, and the Coen brothers’ underrated gem The Man Who Wasn’t There. However, Johansson’s performance in the underrated coming-of-age dramedy Ghost World is what kicked off a new era of her career, and proved how versatile of a performer she really was.

Ghost World

Two eccentric best friends graduate high school and respond to a man’s romance-seeking newspaper ad as a gag, only to find their lives becoming increasingly complicated.

Release Date

July 20, 2001

Director

Terry Zwigoff

Runtime

111

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

Daniel Clowes , Terry Zwigoff

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What Is ‘Ghost World’ About?

Based on the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes, Ghost World is the story of two teenage girls as they struggle to accept the realities of growing up after high school. Rebecca (Johansson) and Enid (Thora Birch) have been friends since childhood, and feel that they are the only ones who truly understand each other. While many of the girls in their class are attracted to superficial achievements, both Rebecca and Enid share a deep cynicism about what high school truly has to offer. Upon graduation, the two friends are ecstatic about the opportunity of living together and finally being independent. However, adulthood begins to drive a wedge between them, forcing Rebecca to consider what a life without Enid would actually look like.

Johansson and Birch do a great job at showing the apathy and ignorance of adolescence in a manner that is genuinely sweet. It is evident that the two characters are more aware of their surroundings than many of the other teenagers in their class, as they understand that the public education system isn’t developed enough to allow them to pursue their real interests. Unfortunately, both Rebecca and Enid use their intelligence as a means of justifying their cynicism, a quality that makes living together much more difficult once they’re on their own. Johansson does a great job at showing Rebecca coming to grips with this reality in a way that is very relatable; while there are elements of her experience that are specific, there’s a universality to the feelings of dissatisfaction and maturation.

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‘Ghost World’ Established Scarlett Johansson as a Comedy Star

Outside of her action roles in the Marvel universe, Johansson’s most recent projects have largely been comedies, including the new “space race” caper Fly Me To The Moon. Becoming adept at humorous banter is not something that develops overnight, but Johansson first showed her merits as a comedic force of nature in Ghost World. Her comedic edge was critical to the film striking the right tone. At its heart, Ghost World is a rather downbeat film about the necessity of moving on from the joys of childhood. Although this could have easily been an emotionally overwhelming message, Johansson is perfect at delivering sharp one-liners that help the film avoid being too schmaltzy for its own good. However, that doesn’t mean that she didn’t help swing the film in a heartfelt direction when it needed to; the final scenes between Rebecca and Enid are nearly tear-inducing because of the excellent chemistry between the two stars.

Johansson showed a more subtle side of humor in Ghost World that perfectly fits the sharply witty qualities of the source material. Rebecca essentially sees herself as an outside observer, and enjoys making callous comments about anyone that she perceives to be “ordinary.” However, this results in a period of adjustment when she is actually forced to take on adult responsibilities, such as paying her apartment lease and having a working-class job. Although she is often critical of the instruments of capitalism that she feels “degrade” her, Rebecca is forced to accept that doing things that are “uncomfortable” is just an aspect of life that she will have to deal with.

‘Ghost World’ Kicked Off a New Era of Scarlett Johansson’s Career

Ghost World was almost instantly recognized as a cult hit, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Ghost World predated the roles that truly announced Johansson as one of the best actresses of her generation. It was only two years later that her performance in Lost in Translation drew unanimous praise, and proved that she was capable of sharing the screen with an industry icon like Bill Murray. Like Ghost World, Lost in Translation was a very humanistic dramedy that was nearly painful to watch in its accurate depiction of the human condition.

Johansson has paved one of the most interesting careers of any actress working today. While she still takes on blockbuster roles like the upcoming Jurassic World sequel, Johansson has taken the time to work with prestigious artists like Noah Baumbach, Woody Allen, Jonathan Glazer, Wes Anderson, and Joel and Ethan Coen. Ghost World established an expectancy of excellence that Johansson continues to abide by.

Ghost World is available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.

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