American Splendor

Rating:
Summary: Great metafictional movie...
Review: American Splendor may be one of the best movie adaptations of a comic book that I have ever seen. You see, there's really a guy named Harvey Pekar who writes a comic book entitled American Splendor which is based on his life. This movie is based on that comic book AND the guy's real life. The film is half documentary and half docudrama. Pekar narrates the film himself. "That's me," he says, "Really it's the actor they have playing me. He really doesn't look anything like me." All of the actor's real-life counterparts appear. Paul Giamatti gives a great performance as Pekar. The movie is very funny and very innovative in the way it merges live-action with animation.

Rating:
Summary: Turning misery into art.
Review: The amazing Paul Giamatti plays the cranky Harvey Pekar in "American Splendor." Harvey is a gloomy, homely, and unkempt guy who works at a dead-end job in a veterans hospital. He lives in a dump in Cleveland, Ohio. Harvey is a desperately lonely misfit who has had two failed marriages. I couldn't help but wonder how this fellow got two women to marry him in the first place!

Giamatti bears little physical resemblance to Pekar, yet he manages to brings Pekar's personality to life. With his sullen sneer, his stooped posture, and his grubby demeanor, Giamatti makes us understand why this man is a solitary misfit. However, life has a way of taking strange twists and turns. After meeting the celebrated underground comic artist, Robert Crumb, Pekar starts writing a comic book about his own life. The comic has the ironic title of "American Splendor," and it achieves a measure of success. Even more amazingly, Harvey meets his soul mate, an equally neurotic and lonely individual named Joyce Brabner, played magnificently by the fabulous Hope Davis.

Hope Davis steals the movie because her character is more shaded than Pekar's. She is an obsessive compulsive and dysfunctional individual, who spends an inordinate amount of time lying in bed in a state of depression. Yet, she is capable of great love and tolerance, putting up with Pekar's immaturity and self-centeredness, and giving him the nurturing that he so desperately needs. Joyce supports her husband emotionally while he battles cancer, and she even gets him to agree to adopt a little girl. Joyce's warm relationship with her adopted daughter is a wonder to behold. Joyce brings out the best in Pekar, although the real Pekar admits that he still fights with his wife constantly. Special mention must go to the hilarious Jonah Friedlander, whose portrayal of Toby Radloff, a nerdy colleague of Pekar's in the veterans hospital, is one of the funniest comic turns that I have seen in some time. He is a nerd who is proud of his nerdiness, and he speaks in an exaggerated monotone that is both weird and hilarious.

The movie features appearances by the real Pekar and his wife, Joyce, as well as excerpts from the "American Splendor" comic books. I found these interludes to be more distracting than entertaining, although many critics have hailed this mixture of reality and fiction as innovative. What I found truly redeeming in "American Splendor" is the idea that everyone, no matter how ordinary and unprepossessing, has something to contribute and deserves a chance at happiness and fulfillment.

Rating:
Summary: splendid biopic
Review: In "American Splendor," Paul Giamatti plays Harvey Pekar, the comic book creator who became famous as a recurring guest on the David Letterman Show. A resident of Cleveland, Pekar was a socially backward man who found he had the talent to translate the pain, loneliness and frustration of his own unhappy life into universal truths, writing material that other artists would then illustrate in comic book form. He began a series entitled "American Splendor," which was really an ongoing autobiographical narrative, drawing on people and events in his own life as his source of inspiration. The film, a pseudo-documentary of sorts, tells his life story by cutting back and forth between both staged reenactments of the events in the stories and interviews with Pekar himself commenting on those events.

"American Splendor" is an offbeat little gem that, in many ways, approximates the look and style of a comic book. As the story plays itself out, captions often appear on the screen, as well as illustrations from Pekar's actual work based on the scene we are witnessing. Robert Pulcini and Sheri Springer Berman, who wrote and directed the film together, create a surrealistic tone by having Pekar and his real friends and companions frequently appear on screen next to the actors who are portraying them (some of them dead ringers for the originals). This technique brings a homespun, homey sweetness to the film. "American Splendor" is a paean to all the social misfits in the world, people who, for whatever reason, can't seem to fit into society's prescribed mold but who often develop strong, meaningful bonds with similar individuals. The movie is also a tribute to the power of art, both for the artist who finds purpose and release through his work and for those to whom his work speaks on a personal and emotional level. The people who inhabit Pekar's strange world - both in reality and within the borders of his comic strip boxes - are seen in the film as warm, good-natured individuals, not socially astute, perhaps, but not losers either.

The emotional focal point for the film is Harvey's relationship with his wife, Joyce, beautifully played by Hope Davis. Despite the somewhat bizarre nature of their marriage, Harvey and Joyce forge a lasting commitment based on reciprocity and devotion. In fact, in the latter sections, the film achieves an emotional depth one doesn't expect it to early on, partly because Harvey is dealt a cruel blow of fate that he and his wife are forced to navigate through together. Yet, the film as a whole is filled with a sly, deadpan, mischievous sense of humor that demonstrates a keen grasp of the absurdities of life.

As Pekar, Paul Giametti turns in a flawless performance, capturing the nebbishness, cantankerousness and ultimate likeability of the man he is portraying.

In both style and content, "American Splendor" is aptly named.

Rating:
Summary: American Splendor 2003 (DVD) - movie, 4 stars
Review: It is an pretty original take on a biographical almost documentary like film. We see Harvey Pekar as played by Paul Giamatti and then we see the real life Harvey. He comments on varying parts of the film and his life. Blended in are clips of his Letterman appearances and his comic books. He does in his comics what a lot of us bloggers do, document real life and let other people share in the joy and the pain.

At certain times his life seems so depressing and hopeless I wanted to press stop on the DVD player and take a break. And I did. I usually do not because it ruins the flow of the movie. Well it was also a little slow at that point in time. So I played the rest of it.

Boy was I glad I finished the movie. He is an underdog, his life is still going on as he reminds us. Not a hollywood feel good movie, but it does put a smile on your face in the end.

Audio: Viewed in English 5.1 DD. I do not think it matters almost 99% of the sound is dialouge so you only need the center channel anyway.

Video: Being such a new movie the transfer is clean, cross coloration almost non existent and colors looking like they should.

www.xanga.com/Rander

Rating:
Summary: Splendid Poignancy
Review: What to make of this film? I asked myself that question after I emerged from the theater. Although in certain respects it reminded me of other documentaries (e.g. those produced by Frederick Wiseman and Michael Moore), it is quite unique and therefore, for me, difficult to discuss. Co-directed and co-written by Shari Springer-Berman and Robert Pulcini, American Splendor has a somewhat schizophrenic nature in that real people (Joyce and Harvey Pekar) interact with those cast to portray them (Hope Davis and Paul Giamatti) as Springer-Berman and Pulcini examine the life of a file clerk employed by a veterans hospital in Cleveland. Certain aspects of his life were previously portrayed in comic books which comprise the American Splendor series (illustrated by various people, including Robert Crumb played by James Urbaniak) and in Our Cancer Year (1994), co-authored by the Pekars.

All this probably sounds much more complicated than it seems to be when seeing the film itself. The narrative wanders along from one episode to the next. Along the way, Joyce and Harvey meet and marry, bicker, pout, struggle with finances, work together, bicker some more, etc. After Harvey appears on David Letterman's television program, he gains some degree of celebrity. Intriguing to me is his steadfast refusal to compromise any of his cranky opinions, notably about the very media which attract public attention to him. Also impressive is the skill with which Springer-Berman and Pulcini coordinate the aforementioned interaction between real people and members of the film's cast. Throughout the course of the film, I sensed a tension between the two groups...most evident in Harvey's body language which suggests both distance and hostility. With regard to the quality of acting, it is consistently outstanding.

Earlier, I acknowledged the difficulty of discussing this film and my remarks thus far no doubt confirm that. So, rather than wander much further in this review, I will conclude with this observation: Imagine a film inspired by such diverse sources as John Bunyan, Franz Kafka, W.C Fields, Larry David, and the Simpsons.

Rating:
Summary: In the words of Harvey Pekar ordinary life is pretty complex
Review: I have a tendency to embrace films that celebrate post-modernism in a creative way, which is exactly what "American Splendor" does in telling the story of Harvey Pekar, the legendary writer of the underground comic of the same name. Once upon a time, in the 1970s in fact, Pekar met the equally legendary comic book artist R. Crumb and complained that comic books were never about ordinary schleps like him. The idea appealed to Crumb, and thus wa born "American Splendor," written by Pekar and illustrated by Crumb and others. In this 2003 film written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini we are treated to not only a cinematic depiction of Pekar (Paul Giamatti), but of the man himself and the comic book version as well (sometimes at the same time). This makes sense because the film is about both Pekar's life and his comic book, and the comic book was about his life, so moving back and forth between the two would be the way to go. What else would you expect from a film, which is art, about life imitating art (and visa versa).

Pekar's life is a curious combination of pessimism and honesty. We are not surprised when he never gets promoted at work or when he gets testicular cancer because this seems to be the lot life has given Pekar. However, we are surprised when a fan who works at a comic book store, Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis), makes contact with him hoping he has an extra copy of an issue of "American Splendor" that she missed. She comes for a visit, curious to see which version of Pekar in the comic book is most like the real one. His immediate reaction is to tell her, "You might as well know right off the bat, I had a vasectomy." Her response later in their date, after a severe attack of food poisioning, is to announce, "I think we should skip the whole courtship thing and just get married."

This is my kind of love story.

If we are not sure that Harvey and Joyce are made for each other, their ability to coexist is confirmed when the real Harvey and Joyce comment on the proceedings in the film. Giamatti and Davis both achieve the level of performance where they are simply inhabiting the characters, which is the best way of making them real. That is important, because there is no more of a sense of plot to "American Splendor" the movie than there was to "American Splendor" the comic book. Pekar's life is a series of clashes, sometimes with David Letterman on late night television, sometimes with the other people at the hospital where he is a file clerk, and sometimes with himself.

The great irony is that underground comic books were an alternative to the superhero comic books of D.C. and Marvel, yet in many ways "American Splendor" follows the standard superhero model. Eventually Howard the Duck made his way to Cleveland, but clearly the city dismissed as the armpit of the nation already had its own superhero in Pekar. The point that his life was less than ordinary is driven home repeatedly and ultimately the great appeal of this film is that it tells about an ordinary life in such a unique way.

Rating:
Summary: Splendor Indeed!
Review: I didn't quite know what to expect when I heard that this film was a mixture of narrative, documentary and animated footage about an overweight depressive underground comic book writer. But it's not nearly as strange or sad I expected, it's actually quite funny and surprisingly straight-forward. I'd never heard of American Splendor before, but after watching the movie the first thing I did was rush out to buy the book. Paul Giametti and Hope Davis are both excellent and the real life Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner are also wonderful to watch. This movie turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen this year. This movie is a combination of a docudrama and a black comedy. Wickedly funny and very different. While other docudramas try to blend the actors and the real-life footage seemlessly, that's not done here. You totally accept the actor playing Harvey, the real Harvey, all the different cartoon Harvey's and the actor playing the actor Harvey, as being Harvey Pekar. In one scene, the real Harvey narates as the actor Harvey goes to see a play about his life, in which another actor plays the actor Harvey. Whew! And the real Harvey narrates about how weird it is to be watching the "movie" of this scene. In another scene, you can't believe Harvey and Toby are as weird as they seem, until the actors walk out of the movie onto the set, and you see the real Harvey and Toby interacting, and the actors are watching them. And then you realize that not only did the actors really "nail them" but the real guys are perhaps even weirder than they are portrayed. Joyce and Harvey's "date" is hysterical. All the scenes in the movie are framed like frames from the comic book. Very creative. And in the end, it all comes full circle, when Harvey writes a comic book about making the movie. It has been a long time since I have seen such a smart, engaging, moving, spryly written, wryly funny movie. You absolutely do not need to be aware of his work before seeing the movie, though if you are a fan, I am sure it would be all the more enjoyable. A great story and a great film!

Rating:
Summary: Turning misery into art.
Review: The amazing Paul Giamatti plays the cranky Harvey Pekar in "American Splendor." Harvey is a gloomy, homely, and unkempt guy who works at a dead-end job in a veterans hospital. He lives in a dump in Cleveland, Ohio. Harvey is a desperately lonely misfit who has had two failed marriages. I couldn't help but wonder how this fellow got two women to marry him in the first place!

Giamatti bears little physical resemblance to Pekar, yet he manages to brings Pekar's personality to life. With his sullen sneer, his stooped posture, and his grubby demeanor, Giamatti makes us understand why this man is a solitary misfit. However, life has a way of taking strange twists and turns. After meeting the celebrated underground comic artist, Robert Crumb, Pekar starts writing a comic book about his own life. The comic has the ironic title of "American Splendor," and it achieves a measure of success. Even more amazingly, Harvey meets his soul mate, an equally neurotic and lonely individual named Joyce Brabner, played magnificently by the fabulous Hope Davis.

Hope Davis steals the movie because her character is more shaded than Pekar's. She is an obsessive compulsive and dysfunctional individual, who spends an inordinate amount of time lying in bed in a state of depression. Yet, she is capable of great love and tolerance, putting up with Pekar's immaturity and self-centeredness, and giving him the nurturing that he so desperately needs. Joyce supports her husband emotionally while he battles cancer, and she even gets him to agree to adopt a little girl. Joyce's warm relationship with her adopted daughter is a wonder to behold. Joyce brings out the best in Pekar, although the real Pekar admits that he still fights with his wife constantly. Special mention must go to the hilarious Jonah Friedlander, whose portrayal of Toby Radloff, a nerdy colleague of Pekar's in the veterans hospital, is one of the funniest comic turns that I have seen in some time. He is a nerd who is proud of his nerdiness, and he speaks in an exaggerated monotone that is both weird and hilarious.

The movie features appearances by the real Pekar and his wife, Joyce, as well as excerpts from the "American Splendor" comic books. I found these interludes to be more distracting than entertaining, although many critics have hailed this mixture of reality and fiction as innovative. What I found truly redeeming in "American Splendor" is the idea that everyone, no matter how ordinary and unprepossessing, has something to contribute and deserves a chance at happiness and fulfillment.

Rating:
Summary: comic book entrepreneur scores "The American Dream"
Review: I found this film to be most interesting in its scenes of the Rust Belt and how an unprepossessing person in a dead-end job can become unexpectedly successful, by exploiting the art of the seemingly mundane elements of life for profit. This is a film biography and a comedy. We find out quite a bit about Harvey Pekar: how he started collecting records at age 15, his dishwashing habits and his medical problems, his business relationship with the famous illustrator R. Crumb, and his relationships with his co-workers. The scenes in which Harvey's co-worker describes his taste in rock music as "trash" and the several scenes with the self-proclaimed "nerd" coworkier are comical, as are some of the scenes with his wife, who comes across occasionally as a semi-comical figure. But more important is the mutually nurturing nature of their relationship which is played out in some detail, from her first letter to him (this is after the release of the first few issues of "American Splendor"), to their first meeting at the train station, to their first date, to their precipitous decision to marry, to Harvey's appearances on national t.v., to his successful bout with cancer & their decision to adopt a child. She is certainly a flawed character with apparently some idiosyncracies herself; one of her talents is to be able immediately to psychoanalyze his friends. From the footage of his appearance on the David Letterman show, the real Pekar appears as a somewhat gruff character. The final birthday retirement scene shows how Harvey has never really left his old job behind, despite his worldly success. Because of its frequent use of animation, I can compare this film to Quentin Tarantino's perhaps overrated recent feminist martial arts film, "Kill Bill" which also makes ample use of animation, though it is far bloodier.

Rating:
Summary: Superb indie film of underground comic hero
Review: This amazing movie is justly one of the best movies of 2003. I suspect its appeal is generational; for people who are not familiar with Robert Crumb's work, some of the film will not register.

This is, loosely speaking, a close relative of "Crumb", the fascinating documentary of underground comic artist Robert Crumb and his tragically whacked out family. Robert Crumb, after reaching his apothesis in the underground comic movement of the early 1970s, wandered the bus stations and park benches to find his "everyman", the working stiff who understood Camus, obscure jazz records and could express firsthand the human condition of the the fileclearks and short-order graveyard cooks of Amerika.

In "American Spendor," we see how Crumb discovers Harvey Pekar, a self-recognized odd bodkin who bears the curse of recognizing his own condition as well as others around him. He can't draw, but when he meets up with Crumb, it is a marriage made in heaven. Pekar provides the stream of social commentary to merge with Crumb's dark realist and mysanthropic graphic style.(The actor playing Crumb has his mannerisms, down to the facial scratches, down perfectly).

Giamatti is a perfect Pekar, as the movie demonstrates with aplomb by interchanging scenes of Giammati and the real Pekar. Pekar is the file-room philosphe, a walking Beckett play, observing but incapable of bettering his lot. (Eventually, he skyrockets to kitsch fame as a repeat Letterman curiousity - his paranoic implosion in the final appearance is gently dealt with here).

Many objected to the scene where Giamatti (briefly playing himself ) observes an interaction between the real Pekar and the "Nerd", and can't help but laugh out loud. But Pekar takes it (as Robert Crumb does in his documentary), understanding he is different, and trudges through, glowering at someone's cosmic Bad Joke.

For anyone who has picked up a graphic novel or used to hide Crumb's comics under their mattress, I can't recommend this movie highly enough.

Recommendations of related films: "Crumb" (a must see), "Ghost World"