Every once and a while, a film comes around that moves you in such a way that it transcends the basic boundaries of the screen, and leaps directly into your soul; forever becoming a part of who you are. To me, American Splendor is definitely a member of this extremely exclusive group of movies. At first glance, this movie could be confused as an ordinary movie about an ordinary-Joe, who turns his life into an comic book, but scratch the surface, and you will see that the story of Harvey Pekar and his comic book American Splendor is poignant in its observations on life, unique both visually and in structure, and genuinely touching.
Hollywood has gone comic-book crazy. Now that visual effects have finally begun to catch up with our imaginations, adaptations of classic comic-book heroes have become to hit theatres faster, and with more regularity than I could ever have imagined. American Splendor is just one of the many movies based on a comic book that has reached theatres this year, but people sure didn’t come to see this movie in droves as they did X2 or Hulk. Why? Because American Splendor could be classified as the “anti-comic book,” or the opposite of everything we associate with comic books. It doesn’t involve a super-hero or a man with special powers, but instead, a man who works as a file clerk in the Cleveland and struggles get through every day. Sorry all you comic nuts, no web-slinging or weather-controlling here. The file clerk I speak of is named Harvey Pekar, a sour-puss by all aspects, who becomes an anti-hero through his comic books and offers commentary on everything from his unorthodox family to picking the fastest line at the supermarket.
Co-directors and co-screenwriters Sheri Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini use an interesting and winning approach to American Splendor, weaving together aspects of fiction (where Paul Giamatti plays Pekar), documentary (where Pekar plays himsef), and animation (where Pekar is played by various artists interpretations of him). This approach is ultimately perfect for the subject matter, as we get to know the real Pekar and who he is (he often narrates the fictional portions as well as fields questions from Springer Berman in the “documentary” portions), and yet a movie with a plot of its own is able to thrive. The movie has been classified as a comedy, and most of these funny moments occur during the animation sequences, when Pekar is able to really lash out at the things that bug him. This is how the script to American Splendor is approached, but enough really can’t be said about how brilliant is truly is. Its very rare for a movie to have a moment that strikes a cord within you, and should a movie have a moment like this, it has succeeded in being an art-form; American Splendor has several moments like this for me.
Paul Giamatti had a major disadvantage playing Harvey Pekar, being that he would have to share screen time with the real Harvey Pekar. This meant that his performance had to be top-notch, or it would come across as gimmicky and cartoonish. Fortunately for Giamatti, he was dead-on, delivering one of 2003 best performances. The same goes for Hope Davis, as the real Joyce Brabner also appears in the movie. The character of Joyce is a foil for Harvey, and it would have been very easy for Davis’ Joyce to come across as a real bitch, but Davis walks the tightrope without faltering.
Its very easy as a critic to slap a good grade on a movie and call it great and “one of the year’s best.” But for the real “great” movies, they are always so much harder to review, as no matter what praise you garner it with, it never seems enough. To me, movies are the ultimate art-form: they blend music, photography, and acting. As the medium of the movie grows older though, the art seems to be replaced by business (how else do you describe sequels?) and the quest for the Almighty dollar. But every once and a while, a movie comes along that keeps my passion for movies alive, and seems to reinvent the “rules” a movie. When a movie like this comes along, it cannot simply be overlooked. American Splendor, although an unlikely candidate, is certainly one of these movies.
Grade: A
DVD Extras Grade: Average
© 2004 Jacob Sproul
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