Movie Review: American Splendor

This week’s movie review is on American Splendor (2003) starring Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis. This movie was the winner of the Sundance Film Festival in 2003.

American Splendor is an independent comicbook that follows the life of Harvey Pekar. Pekar is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life. The book follows his day to day routine and the events that follow. There are no monsters or super powers, just Harvey and his awkward personality. This may not seem like the greatest of plots but ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.

Just like the comicbook, this movie is about Harvey Pekar and his life as he creates this comicbook, works his job, gets married and brings you to the present. What makes this movie stand out is that while Harvey is a boring person, his life isn’t. He has accomplished so much and is still the same guy by the end of the movie and the director creates this without losing your attention. The real Harvey Pekar narrates the movie and even plays himself in certain scenes. In fact, all of Harvey’s friends make cameos in the film. Harvey is such a funny person, not because he tells joke but because of the way he talks to people and deals with problems in his linear way of thinking. He frustration with the world is truly felt as you are totally enveloped in his life.

The writer/director team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman craft this story in a way I’ve never seen before. Mixing live action with animation and changing back and forth between actor Paul Giamatti and the real Harvey Pekar. Yes, this has been done before, but you have to see it to understand what I mean. Since this movie spans his entire life, the soundtrack takes you through the musical periods in time that apply to his life.

It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s angry, it’s stupid, it’s brilliant, it’s pretty complex stuff. I give it ‘extra crispy’ on the Toastometer (that’s really good).

See you next week!

Toast!