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American Splendor is a hard movie to rate. On the one side, there’s superb performances by both Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis. On the flip side, the unique direction by co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini is so imaginative that they don’t know how to use it. American Splendor is based on the underground comic book life of Harvey Pekar, whose job as a file clerk has been chronicled in the comic book American Splendor.
Berman and Pulcini brilliantly bring together the real, fake, and drawn Pekar through odd sequences. Sometimes the real Pekar narrates what the fake Pekar is doing; sometimes the real Pekar is being interviewed documentary style; sometimes the fake Pekar turns into a drawn Pekar, etc. It’s this style that makes American Splendor so interesting; if it was told in a basic format, it wouldn’t be half as good. In addition for that, at times the fake Pekar walks across a comic book-type background, mixing the worlds even more. Sometimes cartoon thought bubbles pop above characters’ heads, and instead of usual title cards, it looks exactly like a comic book.
Soon after Pekar (Giamatti) and his friend R. Crumb (James Urbaniak) publish their first issue, American Splendor fever catches on. Devoted fan Joyce Brabner (Davis), after running out of copies in her comic book store, writes to Pekar for an issue from him. A friendship and marriage eventually evolves.
What makes Pekar such an intriguing character is how ordinary, how shlubby he is. In the opening scene, a young Harvey Pekar, out trick-or-treating, doesn’t go as a superhero, he goes as Harvey Pekar. Pekar doesn’t try to be anything he isn’t. When he goes on the Letterman show (with archive footage of the real Pekar), everyone makes him out to be a big celebrity, while he’s just a regular Cleveland Joe.
It’s becoming a real problem with many modern movies: the directors, whenever doing something original, they have some real trouble being consistent. As I said above, Berman and Pulcini really created something original, but have trouble keeping with every original thing that they brought in at the beginning. If they brought it in, they should have kept with it.
Giamatti is not really a household name, but hopefully his role here in American Splendor will make him more famous. When the high point of you career is starring in Big Fat Liar, you need help. This movie is the help that Giamatti needs. Davis, in her huge glasses and even larger wig, does a great job, and seems to be making a name for herself after About Schmidt (she also starred with Campbell Scott in The Secret Lives of Dentists).
American Splendor is a groundbreaker. However, once it began to break it, it stopped.
Rated R for language.
Review Date: October 5, 2003