Review of American Splendor (2003) by David K — 08 Aug 2009

Crisis. Everyone experiences it in one way or another. There are varying levels of crisis and different ways to respond to those crisis. Harvey Pekar is in constant crisis. He's constantly unhappy, doesn't know why, and desperately wants meaning in his life. So how does he do it? He makes a comic book.

Thus, the basis of all that is "American Splendor." On one level, it's a comic book that is written by Harvey Pekar about Harvey Pekar. The film inserts frames here and there and I must say, it's very funny. On another level though, "American Splendor" is a film. It's a film about a funny, detestable, interesting, and simple man by the name of Harvey Pekar. Though, in the film's best monologue, Paul Giamatti, who plays Harvey Pekar, asks, "What's in a name?" "American Splendor," the film, tries to answer that question, and succeeds.

The film is hard to pinpoint because it's sometimes narrative fiction, sometimes documentary, and sometimes it's Harvey's mind at work. However the film flows nicely between it's different styles and leaves us with a portrait of a man who is doing what any of us is trying to do; be happy.

Maybe Harvey Pekar is a lazy and crude person and "deserves" the boring and unfortunate hand he was dealt in life. But "American Splendor" shows a man who isn't living in self-remorse. Even though he complains about everything, Harvey Pekar gets by. He struggles, like we all do, and still he gets by. It's in that way that Harvey Pekar is a superhero; his ability to overcome crisis. It's for that reason that Harvey Pekar is a man to look up to. It's why he's the star of his own comic book and feature film. Take him or leave him, at least you can't deny him what he's accomplished.