American Splendor

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Shari Springer Berman
Directed by: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Biography
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) hates his boring existence working as a file clerk at a hospital. He finds an outlet for his frustration by writing a comic book about himself and his battles with ordinary life. He becomes somewhat of an anti-pop culture sensation, and achieves a level of success in the comic book business.

Review:

Tim: This is a very odd movie. I honestly believe the only thing stranger than this movie is the actual life of Harvey Pekar.

This film achieved critical acclaim, and a big portion of that goes to Paul Giamatti. He gives a quirky and odd performance. He really transforms himself into Pekar. This isn't a conventional or safe role and I applaud him for taking it. It is performances like this that will launch him to new heights in his career.

Pekar is a very depressing person and this is often a depressing (but humorous) movie. The funniest scenes in the film involve Pekar on the David Letterman Show. They use both Giamatti and the real Letterman footage for these scenes. They are fascinating to watch.

Most small, well acted movies like this one are fairly boring and lack some substance. This film has much more to it than you'd originally think. I like the switching the real Harvey Pekar with Giamatti, but I also found it somewhat disruptive. On one hand, it is a creative and interesting tactic, on the other hand, it constantly reminds you that you're just watching a movie. It is hard to get caught up in it because of this.

American Splendor is a pretty good movie and I love the idea of a biopic about a fairly regular guy, instead of some conquering, larger-than-life hero. The worst part of the movie is that while it will leave you entertained, you will also be fairly depressed.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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