Review of American Splendor (2003) by Stefan T — 14 Aug 2011

American Splendor, not being a fan of comics, I really had no idea what this film was going to be about. I was pleasantly surprised once I started to watch. This film is a biopic of Harvey Pekar, from what I heard a somewhat famous cartoon writer. The film not only has his life replayed with actors, but it also has some interviews with him, and commentary throughout some of the film.

It follows Harvey Pekar, after his wife leaves him he tries to get his back together. He also has a diminishing voice and is unable to speak very well for most of the film. He then begins to write comic using stick figures, which his friend illustrates for him. It then shows his slow ascent to being somewhat famous, especially after he went on Letterman. This film was very strange; it would often jump in and out of some interviews and commentary of the real Harvey Pekar. Pekar is quite funny really, for he even makes fun of the movie itself. For example early in the film, he says something along the lines of this "They make a movie about me, and the guy doesn't even look like me." I thought that was quite funny, as this film has a dark comedy throughout the film, but it is not comedy. The film also has a very clever style. When Pekar is about to go on Letterman, the actors are in the studio waiting room. He then goes out to the stage, and his actor wife watches the Television of the live broadcast, but it is the old broadcast of the real Harvey Pekar, I thought that was clever.

The acting Paul Giamatti did really well. Although he did not look a lot like Harvey, he did a very convincing job. I thought it was an outstanding performance actually. Well really all the acting was solid, no weaknesses detectable. There were not any negatives about this film. The only real negative was that it pushed it as bit as far as time goes. The film goes a little bit too long for maximum enjoyment, but that is fine, it all turned-out good, with a very satisfying ending.

Overall, a very bold and interesting biopic that show great creativity as well as satire from the real and actor Pekar. It has a stellar performance from Giamatti and the rest of the cast. The film makes a seemingly boring life very interesting. I would recommend this to all who are interested in Pekar, and the critics.