American Splendor
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Movie Reviews of American Splendor
Movie Review: An excellent comic book adaptation a la Ghost World.
Summary: 5 Stars
Harvey Pekar's comic book, American Splendor pioneered a new genre: the autobiographical comic book. At first glance, the everyday events of a file clerk from Cleveland seem hardly the material for an interesting film. Fortunately, filmmakers Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman are able to take what was funny, heart-breaking and fascinating about Pekar's life and successfully adapt from the panels on the page to the big screen. Like Ghost World , American Splendor champions outsiders who don't fit in with mainstream society.In a nice touch, a mini-comic book comes with the DVD that briefly chronicles Pekar's experience with having his comic book adapted into a movie.
The disc itself features an engaging audio commentary with the real Harvey Pekar, his wife Joyce, their daughter Danielle, his friend Toby Radloff, filmmakers Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, and actor Paul Giamatti. Everyone has a lot of fun on this track as they joke and reminiscence about the film and their experiences.
"Road to Splendor" is a brief update on what Harvey has been up to since the film was made.
The song, "American Splendor," by Eytan Mirsky that was featured in the movie can be listened to in its entirety. His vocals sound uncannily like Evan Dando from the Lemonheads.
Finally, there is a theatrical trailer for the movie.
American Splendor has the same ironic sense of humour and melancholy as Ghost World, another excellent cinematic adaptation of an independent comic book. American Splendor stays true to Pekar's vision-it refuses to sentimentalize his life, even at the film's emotional conclusion which is genuinely moving. It is one of the finest comic book adaptations ever put on film because it remains true to its source material and wisely involves its creator in the process of transferring his story from the page to the screen.
Movie Review: Strange. witty, imaginative, and altogether wonderful.
Summary: 5 Stars
It's enough to make Borges and Pirandello salivate like Pavlov's dogs. In "American Splendor," directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini present myriad images of the autobiographical comic book writer Harvey Pekar, each reflecting, refracting and playing off the others. They have the real Pekar commenting on the movie and on Paul Giamatti's performance as Pekar, as well as several different cartoon versions of Pekar (all drawn, like the "American Splendor" comic books, by different artists). Adding to the fun are Pekar's real-life wife Joyce Brabner and self-described "nerd" friend Toby Radloff, wandering through the action along with Hope Davis and Judah Friedlander, the actors playing them. At one point Giamatti and Friedlander watch with affectionate amusement as the real Pekar and Radloff have an intense discussion about gourmet jelly beans; at another, Giamatti and Davis as Pekar and Brabner watch a stage performance of two other actors playing Pekar and Brabner. Sound confusing? It could have been, but under Berman and Pulcini's steady hands "American Splendor" is a graceful, surprising and unexpectedly touching film about a strange, curmudgeonly, beaten-down man who cried "I exist!" to the world and actually got the world to listen to him. Of course the film would never have worked if the actors hadn't done justice to their real-life counterparts, so visible (and so sublimely weird) on the screen; but Giamatti, Davis and Friedlander give hilarious, pitch-perfect performances. The real Pekar, and Giamatti portraying him, become lovable existential heroes by the end, wandering the grimy, chilly streets of Cleveland with eternal grimaces molded on their faces. Sure, life stinks a lot of the time, Pekar and "American Splendor" tell us. But wherever humanity reigns--however eccentric--there is poignancy and hope.Movie Review: Documoventry.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a comic book fan or reader whatsoever and I went into this film with some trepidation, but after seeing it I can't help but call it a great movie. Paul Giamatti portrays Harvey Pekar, an underground comic book writer of the 1970s (to present) who showcases in his works the everyday mundane existence of average Americans, including himself. Never wholly good or bad, just life from an honest and gritty perspective a la Charles Bukowski. In this docu-movie we follow Harvey through his years of obscurity as a Cleveland file clerk who befriends the infamous Robert Crumb, to the peak of his celebrity as he does several spots on the Letterman show. He is shown to be a gruff and tempermental character but with a soft side that makes him wholly enjoyable. So as not to give any of the storyline away for those unfamiliar with the artist, Harvey, through all of his struggles with career and marriage remains the same grounded average Joe. For the real fans there are even several spots with the writer himself in this sometimes comic book movie.
The casting is rather good with Giammati in the lead and Hope Davis as his forceful but understanding wife. Giammati is a cross between Vincent D'Onfrio and Nick Tortelli (Carla's husband)from cheers (whatever his name is) and is always a believable force on the screen. Hope Davis is the Velma of the seedy underground comic/geek underworld. The rest of the supporting cast are great stock characters and mirror the real life entities which encompassed Pekar's life. For those of you who might have been put off by the Crumb movie, this was done far more conventionally and without the grotesque, sad nature of the afforementioned film. But that's probably more to do with the subject and not ability. A good alternative to the typical Hollywood big-budget schlock.
Movie Review: A Personal Depiction and Outsider's Perspective - Brilliant!
Summary: 5 Stars
When an obsessive-compulsive pessimistic file clerk decides to create comic books on his life a rhetorical question arises, will someone ever read these comic books? The film American Splendor is evidence that a group of devoted readers did read this comic book with the same name as the film. The cult figure Robert Crumb, who is known for Felix the Cat, illustrated Pekar's stories, which at the time only had stick figures and no public interest. Together Pekar and Crumb brought Pekar's life into the world of comics as an anti-heroic comic book, which essentially uses ordinary people around Pekar that emphasizes their unique talents in a superhuman manner.
The film depicts a semi-documentary, which brings humor, drama, tragedy, and whatever else life has to offer to the silver screen through the personification of Harvey Pekar. A combination between Paul Giamatti, who does a brilliant job performing as Pekar, and Harvey, himself, who frequently presents himself adds texture to the story. This double performance enhances the story as it brings a dual image of Harvey, the personal depiction, as well as an outsider's perspective of Harvey's identity. Intriguingly it brings out several layers Pekar's life and his idiosyncrasies as he struggles with testicular cancer, divorce, loneliness, and his hobbies.
The films ordinarily depiction of an odd character is unique as it develops into an interesting character study of a real character. It is sad. It is funny. It is depressing. It is warm. It is touching. It is grotesque. However, life is all these things, and this is Harvey Pekar's life. Through the pessimistic Pekar the audience gets to be subjected to a wonderful cinematic experience that offers several thoughtful and humorous life lessons.
Movie Review: Splendor With Some Grass
Summary: 5 Stars
Begin with a doomed man - Harvey Pekar. Put him in a doomed city - Cleveland. Give him the ultimate dead-end job - file clerk at a VA Hospital. It sounds like the beginning of a really horrifying Kafka novel, a study in existential despair devoid of color, joy, passion, or meaning.
On one level that's exactly what it is; part of Pekar's charm is that he has unapologetically flushed away his American dream. Pekar embraces failure the way mothers embrace children; failure is his best friend and most trusted ally. There are no shiny cars in his future, no prom queens. The vanities that most of us pursue with blind devotion are of no interest to him.
But this complete lack of ambition is precisely what frees Pekar to be so blindingly honest about the world around him, able to chronicle the most pedestrian activities with a sly, sardonic sneer. Whenever we are in danger of believing that Pekar is looking down at life with supercilious revulsion, we are quickly reminded that he reserves the bulk of his contempt for himself. Pekar is no mere misanthrope; he is an alien in our midst.
To embody such an improbable being takes acting genius, and Paul Giamatti delivers an Oscar caliber performance. Not only does he make this sport of nature believable, he makes him likeable - something of a minor miracle. Indeed, American Splendor ends up being an emotionally compelling film, it resonates truth at every turn. You may go your whole life without ever meeting people like this, (and you'd probably be happier as a result), but you will care about them, and cheer their triumphs - even though these triumphs can only be viewed under a microscope.
This is a rare, bizarre, and thoroughly enchanting film.