Just noticed that I'm almost at the 100-review mark - whew!
You might have come across me (as ...
Just noticed that I'm almost at the 100-review mark - whew!
You might have come across me (as cswann) on dooyoo
Member since:12.10.2000
Reviews:100
Members who trust:12
“American Splendor” won a host of awards: Fipresci award (Cannes Film Festival 2003) Grand jury Prize (Sundance Film Festival 2003) Guardian new directors award (Edinburgh Festival 2003) It also got an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay.
For me, it was a real surprise to see a refreshingly different movie – one which blurs all the boundaries between fiction, biography, documentary, comedy, tragicomedy… where do you want me to stop?
Crucial to the whole thing is Paul Giamatti, who plays Harvey Pekar. For those of you who haven’t heard of him, he is the creator of a cult American comic (or should I say, graphic novel) called “American Splendor”. Which is where the title comes from.
He is a filing clerk, stuck in a boring job, but when it comes down to it, content to stay in his boring job, because it pays the bills, and allows him to concentrate on producing his comic. We also get to see the real Harvey Pekar in brief commentary pieces, and he also narrates the entire movie. This is where we get to see that truth can often be stranger than fiction. Giamatti plays the character with a wonderful eccentric style (though “style” is probably the wrong word – Harvey is not a snappy dresser; he’s no looker either. In fact, I came away from seeing the movie with the idea that he would be the ideal actor to bring Homer Simpson to life! But that’s the kind of movie that “American Splendour” is – like The Simpsons it has a certain realism, and a charm, about it – you really feel for the characters and get to know them.
The really clever thing about the two characters – Pekar himself and Giamatti playing Pekar, is we get to hear comments about “that guy who is playing me” – all very true to life – very probably the kind of thing that everyone who’s ever had a film made about their life will have muttered when they have to suffer the end result. His wife, Joyce, is played by Hope Davis – another excellent piece of casting. She looks like Muriel Gray with a long black wig on, very laconic and another strange individual.
The story is faithful the Pekar’s real life (as are the comic books). Robert Crumb becomes a mentor and illustrator of his stories. There is a sequence where we see a real appearance on the David Letterman Show – with an odd mixture of archive footage and newly acted material.
In some ways the story is rather mundane – definitely if I wrote down a lot of what happens it would sound tedious (like many people’s lives consist of tedious events) But then there are also characters such as the self-confessed nerd, Toby Radloff (played by Judah Friedlander). He’s the kind of guy who is proud to call himself a nerd, and usually, there’s even a chance that such a standpoint could make you, well, less of a nerd, and even quite trendy, but when we see the real Toby we realise he truly is a… nerd. Talks strangely, seems to have no sense of embarassment about either his appearance or his interests. Probably a really nice guy, too.
Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who had just made small indie movies before this. Both make appearances in "American Splendor", Pulcini as Bob the Director, and Berman as an interviewer.
If you've seen and enjoyed movies like "Ghost world" or "Man on the Moon" – this will definitely float your boat. But if you just like weird indie movies, you’ll be happy. And if it's a tender love story that's more your scene – it may also be worth checking out. Just don’t expect any sentimental stuff. This is tragic-comic realism, in many ways.
It's 101 minutes long
There's also a website, for more details: Americansplendormovie.com
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
I loved this movie - I like Hope Davis (have you seen Next Stop Wonderland?)and Paul Giamatti (esp in Sideways). I'd never heard of Harvey Pekar before seeing it. Great review, Emma
Matt.Blundell 23.01.2005 23:51
A very nice review - i love this flick
salem_witch 19.10.2004 21:58
Great review, not something I fancy watching though!
One of the most acclaimed films of 2003,American Splendoris also one of the most ... more
audaciously creative biographical movies ever made. Blending fact, fiction and personal perspective from the comic books that inspired it, this marvellous portrait of Harv...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
One of the most acclaimed films of 2003,American Splendoris also one of the most ... more
audaciously creative biographical movies ever made. Blending fact, fiction and personal perspective from the comic books that inspired it, this marvellous portrait of Harv...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Let us introduce our man ... Harvey Pekar, bona fide American original. Cleveland native, ... more
V.A. hospital file clerk, and hilariously grumpy observer of life's strange and unpredictable pageant. A comic book writer who writes about his everyday life as a...
Harvey is a file clerk at the local hospital and a music enthusiast in his spare time. He ... more
has thousands of books and LPs and scours the markets for additions to his collection. At one of these sales he meets a fellow enthusiast who years later is to fi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: A unique, indie masterpeice, with a comicbook hero who you can actually identify with! Disadvantages: Only seems to appeal to certain people (due to the nature of humour)
Jodi_Leigh 16.08.2005 (16.08.2005)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of American Splendor (DVD)
Advantages: A unique, indie masterpeice, with a comicbook hero who you can actually identify with! Disadvantages: Only seems to appeal to certain people (due to the nature of humour)
Jodi_Leigh 16.08.2005 (16.08.2005)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of American Splendor (DVD)
![American Splendor [DVD] [2004]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78514646.jpg "American Splendor [DVD] [2004]")
Oct 19th, 2004
very helpful by (96%):
helpful by (4%):
