American Splendor (DVD)

American Splendor tells the story of Harvey Pekar a disgruntled and depressed file clerk who doesn't know what to do with his life. We are first introduced to him as a young boy at Halloween, the only one with out a costume he gets sick of people wondering why and walks off on his own and becomes the cynical outcast he is. The voice of the real Harvey Pekar narrates as we are introduced to Paul Giomatti as portraying his middle-aged self and he warns us that this isn't a Hollywood fantasy film full of romance and fantasy and happy endings but a real story about a man who is sick of his crappy life. He spends most of his life alone, his voice is going all the ...  Read the complete review

Every so often, a film comes out of left field which is something so different, so unusual, so strange that it garners a lot of attention. American Splendor is one of those films. Sometimes those experiments works, sometimes they don't. Sometimes, too, a film attracts a lot of attention simply because it's "trendy" to say that's a great film... At its heart, American Splendor is simply a biopic of little known (in the UK at least) underground Cleveland comic book writer Harvey Pekar. Pekar's comic (also called American Splendor) is a comic book record of Pekar's own life and experiences. His stock in trade is that he's an unrepentant misery, always ...  Read the complete review

?American Splendor? has already won a host of awards: Fipresci award (Cannes Film Festival 2003) Grand jury Prize (Sundance Film Festival 2003) Guardian new directors award (Edinburgh Festival 2003) It also has an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay. It is such a surprise to see a refreshingly different movie ? one which blurs all the boundaries between fiction, biography, documentary, comedy, tragicomedy? where do you want me to stop? Crucial to the whole thing is Paul Giamatti, who plays Harvey Pekar. For those of you who haven?t heard of him, he is the creator of a cult American comic (or should I say, graphic ...  Read the complete review

As far as biopics go, American Splendor is about as zany, off the wall, and original as they get. It documents the life of Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. What makes it so unconventional is that as much as it is a biopic of his life, it is also an adaptation of his comic series American Splendor, amalgamating the two into something of a beautiful mess. What really makes the film, though is the two central performances - Paul Giamatti plays Pekar with great flair that has made him a rather bankable indie darling in recent years. Giamatti has graduated from small roles in films in the Truman Show to more saucy roles such as ...  Read the complete review

When I sat down to watch American Splendour I wasnt sure whether I would like it but still held up high hopes. It had received good reviews in the press and the subject matter seemed very interesting to me. I suppose the reason wasnt the film itself but rather my choice in movie rentals lately, choosing either lame comedies or indie films which, while very good technically with great scripts and acting, left me a little unfulfilled. Two examples would be Ghost World and Igby Goes Down which were great movies but didnt leave a lasting impression on me. Im pleased to say that American Splendour hit the spot magnificently. Funny, dark, packed to the gills with interesting ...  Read the complete review