American Splendor: A Life in Frames
Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.
When I was a kid I used to make my own comic books, often together with my buddies. Eventually that interest morphed into my current obsession with movies. However, one of my friends kept at it, got published and remains somewhat active. A few years ago he started portraying his (and his friends’, including me) teen years in his comics. I was reminded of this when I watched the film adaptation of Harvey Pekar’s comic book series “American Splendor”.
It is the mid-seventies and we’re in Cleveland, Ohio. Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) works as a file clerk at a Veteran’s Administration hospital. It is a dead-end job and Harvey’s wife has left him. At a relatively young age, Harvey has turned into a depressed, constantly complaining curmudgeon. He doesn’t really have much to live for, but his friendship with underground artist Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak) inspires him. At that time comic books usually portrayed superheroes or were comic strips meant to entertain newspaper readers while they were having their morning coffee. What if, Harvey thought, someone made comic books about regular people? He sat down and started writing the text for a comic book. Since he couldn’t draw at all, he asked Crumb for his opinion; he liked what he saw and decided to draw Harvey’s comic book. As the years went by, Harvey was recognized for his work, but never made enough money to quit his crushingly boring day job. Eventually, he met Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis) who ran a comic book store in Delaware. They turned out to be a perfect match and got married… but that doesn’t mean everything gets a Hollywood ending.
On several occasions, I have in previous reviews written that I admired the film in question, but didn’t love it, which justified a somewhat modest rating. This is one of those films that I admire but don’t love, but I’m nevertheless giving it a high rating – it is simply too well made to deserve anything less. It is partly a regular adaptation of Mr. Pekar’s “American Splendor” and his and Ms. Brabner’s “Our Cancer Year” (detailing Pekar’s struggle with lymphoma), partly a documentary with the real-life Pekar and Brabner talking about the comic books and providing narration. It’s a fascinating mix, and there’s even an element of theater to the whole thing, with the actors and the real-life persons appearing on a stage. The directors occasionally let their characters walk in and out of comic book frames; it is however important to them to let us understand that what we’re watching is as true to Mr. Pekar and his life as possible. Honesty is crucial to Harvey as we can see in a few devastating clips from his appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. The fact that the directors are married to each other probably affect the portrayal of Harvey’s marriage to Joyce; it is very realistic, not romantic in a classic Hollywood way, but… reasonable and affectionate. Mr. Giamatti is perfect as Harvey, a man who always finds new reasons to view life as bleakly as possible; he truly uses his whole body and demeanor to become this character. Ms. Davis is also excellent as his wife, a woman who is very similar to Harvey, but nurtures a more passionate interest in politics.
There really isn’t anything in this film that disappoints; it is frequently interesting and amusing. I came away thinking that my childhood friend is actually carrying on the legacy of Harvey Pekar. Thanks to this grumpy Cleveland native, comic books took one step closer to being accepted as a true art form that reflect on our daily lives. Not bad for a regular working stiff.
The YouTube clip shows one of Mr. Pekar’s appearances on Late Night.
American Splendor 2003-U.S. 100 min. Color. Produced by Ted Hope. Written and directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini. Comic Books: Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner (“American Splendor”, “Our Cancer Year”). Cast: Paul Giamatti (Harvey Pekar), Hope Davis (Joyce Brabner), Judah Friedlander (Toby Radloff), James Urbaniak, Earl Billings, Donal Logue.
Trivia: Jonathan Demme allegedly first considered making a movie based on Mr. Pekar’s comic book series.
film movies harvey pekar paul giamatti robert crumb IMDb
Comments
Due to spam, I am forced to moderate comments, which is why it may take a few hours until your comment is displayed.
Masterpiece
Excellent
Very good
Worth a look
So-so
Poor
Crap