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American Splendor
2003
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Chris Ambrose |
|---|---|
| Director | Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini |
| Genres | Drama |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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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 directors present the curmudgeonly author in animated form, as his real-life self and, in the picture's main body, as a dramatised character. In this latter guise, Paul Giamatti gives a wry and endearing performance, while Hope Davis similarly excels as his sardonic soulmate and wife, Joyce. The combined result is a total delight that transforms an ordinary Joe into a genuine hero.
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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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Hugely enjoyable and very clever portrait of Harvey Pekar, a nerdy Cleveland hospital worker who happens to have become... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
View all -
55 out of 61 people found this review helpful
Pekar Pie!!!
Wow!!!
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 -
30 out of 32 people found this review helpful
A minor masterpiece
American Splendor is one of those rare films that defies expectation.
Actor Paul Giamatti captures the true essence of comic book curmudgeon Harvey Pekar, a man who is quite happy to sit out the game of life by sitting on the sidelines throwing stones. Embittered by his dull day job, frustrated, lonely and terminally depressed - Harvey decides to turn his misery into a comic book of the everyday man. The anti - super-hero. The comic, called 'American Splendor' - becomes an underground cult hit and Harvey is thrust into the limelight and into minor celebrity.
This film chronicles the beginnings of his comic book musings and the bizarre courtship of his wife Joyce, played wonderfully by Hope Davis. Based on the couple's autobiographical 'Our cancer Year' - a comic book depiction of Harvey's real life battle with cancer - 'American Splendor' is simply one of the best films released last year. Innovative, funny and moving.
Highly Recommended. -
28 out of 31 people found this review helpful
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!
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Hmmmmm....
I was expecting quite a lot from this film having seen the trailer and thought it looked interesting - as usual the trailer was better than the film! An 'ok' film, but some parts are dull as dishwater on a good day. The constant hopping to interviews with the 'real life' Pekar were intrusive to the flow of the film, why not just make a documentary and be done with it? For me it didn't really create any real empathy with the characters, although maybe the audience is supposed to react in the normal Pekar way - disinterested! However, there were moments that were funny and the mixture of comic strip with film worked well with the film's content.
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Giamatti for President
This is great: quirky, funny, foul-mouthed, technically excellent and far from formulaic. A bit like Pekar himself, then. Paul Giamatti is - as always - fabulous in the lead role (his rumpled, sour-faced everyman schtick is a joy to watch) as Harvey Pekar, and the story of his life is amusing, moving and cringeworthy in equal parts. It is a little disconcerting at first - the voiceover, comic frames etc setting the scene have tended to put the uninitiated off - but stick with it. After a flashy, jump-cut heavy first fifteen minutes it settles down to tell the warts 'n all story of an American cult icon who's as dry, disagreeable and downright hilarious as he ever was. Top stuff.
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55 out of 61 people found this review helpful
Pekar Pie!!!
Wow!!!
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 -
30 out of 32 people found this review helpful
A minor masterpiece
American Splendor is one of those rare films that defies expectation.
Actor Paul Giamatti captures the true essence of comic book curmudgeon Harvey Pekar, a man who is quite happy to sit out the game of life by sitting on the sidelines throwing stones. Embittered by his dull day job, frustrated, lonely and terminally depressed - Harvey decides to turn his misery into a comic book of the everyday man. The anti - super-hero. The comic, called 'American Splendor' - becomes an underground cult hit and Harvey is thrust into the limelight and into minor celebrity.
This film chronicles the beginnings of his comic book musings and the bizarre courtship of his wife Joyce, played wonderfully by Hope Davis. Based on the couple's autobiographical 'Our cancer Year' - a comic book depiction of Harvey's real life battle with cancer - 'American Splendor' is simply one of the best films released last year. Innovative, funny and moving.
Highly Recommended. -
28 out of 31 people found this review helpful
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!
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15 out of 16 people found this review helpful
Interesting...
Ok straight away I admit I had no knowledge of the comics that the film was referring to. However, that didn't disrupt my enjoyment of the movie...there is so much imagination and talent on display here! The editing is superb,the narrative is well-paced.. the mixture of live action and comic book imagery is a fantastic idea, and works really well. As is the introduction of the real characters-make no mistake, it's unique! ( It's also stunning to see how well the actors portray their characters) BUT I had a real problem with the tone of the movie. I think you have to be in the mood to watch something so dour..and I couldn't empathise with any of the characters at all sadly. In particular Harvey- I just didn't like him!
However, if you want to see a prime example of inventive film-making then I'd recommend this. And if you're a serious comic fan? Then it's a must-see. -
13 out of 14 people found this review helpful
American what? I was pleased to find out
Never heard of the film, never heard of the comic 'American Splendor', not a big comic fan either, so I wasn't expecting much at all, in fact I thought this is bound to be rubbish I may not bother watching it. I was pleased I did, personally I did find it interesting and quirky, it made me go and have a look on the web at the comic and some other background information on it. It was funny and it was an entertaining look at what life is like for some people, it's amazing what some people get up to and how they live. Making a diary/comic to cover a year of his cancer was probably a help to others who were going through the same thing.
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9 out of 13 people found this review helpful
American Beauty !!
Great little movie, which won't appeal to everyone, but is a worthy view.
Excellent staring performance from Paul Giamatti as our hero, Harvey Pekar, and an hysterically funny Judah Friedlander as Toby, a dead ringer for the comic book store worker in 'The Simpsons'.
I had never heard of the cult comic 'American Splendor' before this movie, but this didn't detract from any enjoyment of this fine film.
Especially enjoyed the David Letterman reconstruction, and the original direction of mixing comic book animation, feature film, acting and commentary from the real life Harvey Pekar.
Watch out for a great scene where Giamatti & Friedlander are watching the real life Harvey & Toby, and can bearly keep a straight face!
Better than 'Revenge of the Nerds' !! -
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Quirky and interesting
I didn't know anything about the American Splendor comics but was attracted by the promise of a quirky biopic. It's always more interesting when the hero is real. This film didn't disappoint, it's superbly acted and the interspersing of real characters and their actor counterparts was a very successful ploy. The main character is so offbeat he could have been written by Charlie Kaufman except he's a real person.
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7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
Original, funny, moving brilliance
This biopic of a small guy struggling through a dull world is filled with the wit and wisdom that made Pekar's comics so good in the first place.
The film's greatest touch is the deft way it blends comic art, real life and staged routines together so smoothly. This kind of knowingness could easily have been smug and irritating but instead it works brilliantly, really drawing the viewer inside Pekar's head.
Giametti is awesomely good (a career high that will take a lot to better) as the obsessive compulsive splendidly grouchy anti-hero, making this is as much of a cult classic as the source material. -
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Hmmmmm....
I was expecting quite a lot from this film having seen the trailer and thought it looked interesting - as usual the trailer was better than the film! An 'ok' film, but some parts are dull as dishwater on a good day. The constant hopping to interviews with the 'real life' Pekar were intrusive to the flow of the film, why not just make a documentary and be done with it? For me it didn't really create any real empathy with the characters, although maybe the audience is supposed to react in the normal Pekar way - disinterested! However, there were moments that were funny and the mixture of comic strip with film worked well with the film's content.
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6 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Wierdness
I guess you have to be a fan of the comics to actually appreciate this movie,
I tried really hard to get into it but just found it odd and slow.
However when you compared the actors to the real people, they played their parts really well.
Critics' reviews (6)
-
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 directors present the curmudgeonly author in animated form, as his real-life self and, in the picture's main body, as a dramatised character. In this latter guise, Paul Giamatti gives a wry and endearing performance, while Hope Davis similarly excels as his sardonic soulmate and wife, Joyce. The combined result is a total delight that transforms an ordinary Joe into a genuine hero.
-
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.
-
Hugely enjoyable and very clever portrait of Harvey Pekar, a nerdy Cleveland hospital worker who happens to have become... read more on Time Out
-
"...One of the strangest and richly satisfying films of the year..." (Mark Eccleston)
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"...Remarkable! Acutely funny, sad and moving..."
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"...Unique, audacious and hilarious..."
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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 ... -
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