Review of American Splendor (2003) by Ro D — 23 Apr 2009

American Splendor is the biography of Cleveland underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar as played by Paul Giamatti. Pekar leads a strikingly lonely existence, working his job as a file clerk and collecting old records in his spare time.

In the 1970s, he forms a friendship with Robert Crumb, and soon the two are collaborating on what is basically an autobiographical comic book. Harvey becomes a minor celebrity, finds love with a fan, and makes several memorable appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman".

All this is done in a fairly entertaining fashion, and while Harvey and friends are all eccentric, they're also intelligent, and it's unfair to write them off as misfit losers when they actually have something worthwhile to say.

Harvey is a complex character (and I assume, person), he seems to be eternally pessimistic and yet there's a great need for potential love. And yet he's willing to hold a mirror up to himself and make his worst characteristics known to the world (through his comics).

It's not easy getting to the root of Harvey Pekar. Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis do a great job portraying these people. It'd be easy to do caricatures, all mannerisms and no substance, but these people are made real here.

It's not always enjoyable spending time with this group, but getting to know them is worthwhile. As his friend uber-nerd Toby Radloff proclaims while professing his love for the movie "Revenge of the Nerds", the nerds triumph in the end.