Review of American Splendor (2003) by Eric F — 06 Jun 2008

I've seen American Splendor plenty of times, and have always loved it. But still, everytime I watch it, I get more out of it... in fact, at this point i'd have to rank it in my top ten films of all time. Sure, that may seem a bit excessive, but I cannot describe how much I love this movie.

The film revolves around the life of Harvey Pekar, the inspirational and iconic figure of the independent comic book scene. His stories all revolve around his life's simple miseries and aggravations... for instance, at one point he looks in the mirror and says "Now there's a reliable disappointment". There's also a funny scene where he has to chose a line at a grocery store, and he gets stuck behind an cheap old Jewish woman. After all, as Pekar states, "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.".

The film flawlessly blends fact and fiction in the same frame. For instance, at times we hear a voice over by the real Harvey Pekar, acknowledging Paul Giamatti as "That guy playing me". This could've been disastrous if it was a less talented actor than Giamatti... but he's one of my favorite actors and this is by far the best role he's ever played. We don't even look at them as "Harvey Pekar and Paul Giamatti", we immediately understand that they coexist as one.

On the subject of wonderful performances, i'll never have a bad thing to say about Hope Davis after seeing her in this film. She really nails the role and is absolutely hilarious. You've never seen such a charming and bright film about miserable people. Another role that needs to be mentioned is Judah Friedlander of all people... his performance is so wonderful and he has the look down so well that I didn't even realize that it was him the first few times I saw this. I wonder what else he could do outside of the "stupid stoner guy" roles.

If you have even the smallest interest in film editing, this is definitely a film you should take notes on. Everything is so sharply done, and at times it's very stylish without being gimmicky or contrived. Add a fantastic screenplay and direction on top of that, and you have one hell of a film.

Near the beginning of the film, Harvey states "If you're the kind of person looking for romance or fantasy or escapism, you've got the wrong movie." Sure, this film is highly gloomy... but at the same time, it leaves me with a smile on my face everytime. It's about a miserable guy, but he always stays true to himself and has so much charisma that it's impossible to think negatively of. The film doesn't shun or exploit Harvey's depression, it cherishes it as one of his character traits.

People nowadays expect "Spiderman", "X-Men", or "The Hulk" out of a comic book movie... but, if you're really looking for the quintessential comic book movie, this it it. Absolutely perfect performances with a wonderful soundtrack, editing, direction, and writing. There's absolutely nothing about this movie that you can't love. If you see this and it doesn't stick with you forever, we don't have an awful lot in common.

"Life seemed so sweet and so sad, and so hard to let go of in the end. But hey, man, every day is a brand new deal, right? Just keep on working and something's bound to turn up. " God bless Harvey Pekar.