by Hank Brockett
Of course, that assumption is one of the many one must make about the film. Just as a film can finagle a more dramatic arc from the hodgepodge of life's moments, Barris has found a way
In Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, screenwriter Charlie Kauffman and director George Clooney craft Barris' tale into one of ascent, decent and finally back up again to the iffy footing of a tempestuous plateau. The very real life of Barris, though, is based on an "unauthorized autobiography" detailing the double life of a TV game show mastermind and a CIA hired gun. Truth in doubt, this sounds like a job for one man. Somebody get John Stossel on the case!
That's the fun of both Barris' legacy and the film, in that the story is told with sly grins. Are those off-key crooners really so quirky, or do they just want a taste of television fame? What is true and what isn't really doesn't matter, not as long as the showbiz story lasts just the same.
But in an interesting move, the film joins its segments with testimonials from the of-this-world Chuck Barris' past. Everyone from Dick Clark to Gene Gene the Dancing Machine weighs in on the subject, with all the conventions of a documentary. The only difference - and one much clearer than the blurry line between fact and fiction - remains that harsh white light blanketing the real world counterparts. It’s no use. No more is uncovered there than in Sam Rockwell's coolly controlled Barris. The truth elusive, it's still a fascinating look at a lack of answers with choices much farther-reaching than bachelor one, two or three.
Compared to Confessions and a similar freeze frame ending in Blow (which served more as a visual symbol of "This film is based on a true story "), American Splendor takes an even grander step in melding fact and fiction. Both Paul Giamatti and Harvey Pekar star as Harvey Pekar, an unassuming cynic who stammers into cult hero status as a nonfiction-based comic book writer. The film almost flaunts its authenticity. Snuggled in between the scenes of grimy Cleveland as a setting for pseudo prominence, the real Harvey Pekar answers off-camera question in a way that almost confirms all the quirks and traits Giamatti unearths in his performance.
In one instance, the role of a coworker nerd (Toby Radloff) appears to be just another broad characterization. He sits alone in his car, eating White Castle, and when he speaks it's as if someone has hold both of his nose and a scarf around his neck. Soon, he'll be driving hours to see Revenge of the Nerds and that's about the time disbelief loses suspension, even in the biggest of Anthony Edwards fans.
However, we then see the real Toby, with such a dead-on voice you're looking for voice-over work in the credits. He's real, and this nerd is spectacular.
Just as in Confessions, Splendor uses the anchors of reality for thematic strength. Pekar's comics broke ground in their lack of x-ray vision or even tights. The everyday annoyances from Pekar's life as a file clerk entered the funnel of creativity and turned into animated life lessons. In Pekar's own life, he gained a few fans and appeared very memorably on Late Night with David Letterman. Both his life and his movie, though, return to the everyday. In using actors and their real-life counterparts, the film diverts attention from the storytellers and places it solely on the stories themselves.
One could guess such brazen combinations of documentaries and feature films arrive at a time when reality television has attempted to transform the ideas of entertainment. The appearance of "real people" in game shows and relationship dramas followed a time when audiences grew content with characters and conversations based in reality (Seinfeld), while still following the conventions of what works in episodic television. Thus far, a direct interpretation onto film (The Real Cancun) didn't work and very few people even attempted that sun-soaked revolution.
That could change, but more likely the pique of audience interest will mean tweaks on the documentary traditions. While nonfiction film still garners more views in the classroom than in the theater, there's plenty to incorporate (voice-overs, slow pans on memorabilia, re-creations, etc). For a Hollywood some would say is guarded against wholly original work, the true story plays out much easier for decision-makers and their green-light meetings. If Confessions and Splendor are any indication, a new wave of biopics value the appearance of truth in their ability to entertain.