Harvey Pekar, the hilariously downtrodden Cleveland comic book artist, is the subject of AMERICAN SPLENDOR, titled after Pekar's autobiographical series. Played by actor Paul Giamatti, Pekar also appears as himself, giving the film a documentary feeling with many behind-the-scenes on-set shots. Directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini maintain this balance between the actors and the real-life characters--Pekar's wife Joyce and workmate Toby also appear on set as themselves--while crafting a funny, difficult, heartwarming tale that encapsulates Pekar's life, work, and uniquely bizarre perspectives. ... Peckar is a pessimistic file clerk with no hope of ever rising above his boring job, slobbish apartment, and bad attitude. Wonderfully set in his ways, Pekar's constant self-deprication is clearly a front for his prolific interests in music and art. When his friend Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak) gets his big break as a comic book artist, Pekar decides to try his hand at the craft. Though he can't illustrate, his stories are good, and Crumb agrees to help draw the pictures. Soon several artists are illustrating Pekar's American Splendor series, and the comic book's readership grows. The film continues through the events of Pekar's life--meeting wife Joyce Brabner, appearing on David Letterman, struggling with cancer, and adopting a daughter--always showing Pekar's no-frills approach to life. A creative and punchy film, AMERICAN SPLENDOR invites viewers into the odd world of Pekar and his comic-book antihero persona.
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This is a fantastic film, in my opinion, although its not going to be everybodies cup of char. I thought it was interesting how it manages to blur the different realities of real life, film and comic/animation. There is some great characters in there as well as some quite poignant and touching moments.
This is film is especailly interesting for people who love underground comix.
peace. gonz
Not to be missed
This is an absolute corker. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll laugh until you cry. The film contains splendid performances from its main characters who had the enormous task of actually appearing in the film with the real people they are playing. An astounding, and very clever, ploy that works sublimely. It is the story of the rise of the American Splendor comic books that document the life of its creator. This film brings those comics to life. And any film that uses the line 'Look before we get started with any of this you'd might as well know right off the bat I had a vasectomy' when the 'hero' meets his heroine deserves to be seen. A classic!
American Splendor
The mundane life of a working-class everyman is celebrated in all its minor detail in this imaginative biopic of American underground comic-book writer Harvey Pekar. The first feature from documentary film-makers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, it brilliantly captures the humanity and acidic humour of the Cleveland hospital filing clerk who turned his everyday experiences into the cult, autobiographical publication American Splendor. True to the spirit of this comic-book series, the sharp and quirky movie utilises a range of visually invigorating techniques to illustrate Harvey's existence, past and present. As well as including authentic archival footage, the ...
American Splendor
Occasionally engaging mix of drama and documentary, in which Harvey Pekar comments on his experiences and this movie; the collision between himself as he appears and as he is played by Giametti adds piquancy, but it often seems just ordinary.
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Definitely a different type of auto-biography.. Paul Giamatti does a pretty good job of playing the miserable character "Harvey Pekar".. This is a movie biography of a ordinary man who decided to try an not be ordinary.. I liked the way it was directed and i'd say it's worth the watch.. 3.5/5..
