Disappointing--if you've read the graphic novel also This movie is better than probably 90% of the other stuff out there, and I would recommend it to most smart moviegoers. BUT (major but here), I was dismayed that Ghost World's original creator, Daniel Clowes, and the film's director, Terry Zwigoff, decided to rearrange the plot line and ended up destroying the main focus of the book, which is the relationship between two teenage girls, Enid and Becky, and how it eventually, heartbreakingly, dissolves. The movie is mainly concerned with the relationship between Enid (well-played by Thora Birch) and the middle-aged sad sack played by Steve Buscemi (who is excellent, as usual). The character of Becky, Enid's best friend, is basically cast aside. I was really looking forward to a smart, funny independent feature film taking an honest look at teenage girls as they teeter on the brink of adulthood, wondering exactly who they are and what their lives should become. That sounded fresh and new, if not downright revolutionary, particularly coming from a male writer and director team. Instead I got this (relatively) conventional, boy/girl quasi-romance, dressed up in post-slacker hipness - did Clowes and Zwigoff think maybe the movie wouldn't fly without a major male character? I'm guessing yes. My hope is that all the critics and other folks out there who loved the movie might be compelled to seek out the original book now. It's light years better.