Keeping it Real - an original film about an original person (American Splendor (DVD))

Member Name: bluerose81

Product:	American Splendor (DVD)
Date:	29/08/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interplay of comic strips, real footage and actors is fascinating

Disadvantages: None

Being a Brit, I had never heard of Harvey Pekar and the 'American Splendor' comic book series, but this film sounded quirky enough to be interesting, and I wasn't disappointed. Released in 2004, it is basically a biography of Pekar, a jazz-obsessed filing clerk from Cleveland, Ohio. An ordinary, shabby guy on the face of it, who made it big by writing comic strips about his very ordinary life in a comic book. 'American Splendor' tells the story of his life, but in a very interesting way.

With a really good soundtrack featuring John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie, the story of Harvey Pekar is told partly with actors (Paul Giamatti playing Pekar), cutting to footage of the real life Harvey Pekar together with his real family and friends, combined with strips from his comics. There is even a fourth dimension because at one point, the actors are in a theatre watching a performance of Harvey Pekar's life. We even see the real Pekar interracting with Giamatti. It is a really crazy affair, but to see the real Pekar, it is clear that Giamatti has really captured something of his grouchiness and character and his performance is really wonderful.

Harvey Pekar is not about "phony bullshit"; he keeps it real, and when he began collaborating with comic artist Robert Crumb to produce the first comic in 1976, he soon began to acquire a strong cult following. Obviously the readers found the witty and honest observations of his own every day life a refreshing novelty in comparison to the tradtional fantasy stories about superheros.

Harvey's work colleagues become minor celebrities in their own right, as he includes them in his stories. For example, his wonderful friend, Toby, played very well by Judah Friedlander, has Asperger's Syndrome and is a self-confessed nerd with a peculiar way of expressing himself. The real Toby is in the film too, and he is indeed as strangely endearing as Friedlander portrays him, obsessed with jelly babies and an avid fan of 'Revenge of the Nerds' because it 'empowers' him.

Another great character is Hope Davies who plays Harvey's sardonic wife, Joyce Brabner - a woman so quirky herself she seems perfectly matched to him. The real Joyce is also in the film and is captured remarkably well by Davies. Joyce has a gift for instant psychological diagnoses of people, and when Harvey appears on Late Night With David Letterman, which involves cutting to footage of the real Harvey's appearance on the show, she taps the screen showing the real Letterman and says "meglamaniac". Maybe she really had a gift.

Pekar even included the darker side of his own life in his comics such as his diagnosis with cancer and the pain and chemotherapy he endured. He collaborated with his wife, Joyce, at this time, on a comic book entitled 'The Cancer Year'. This was a big hit. He did recover, and he is still alive to this day. Pekar always kept it real and this was part of his charm. As he says to his adopted daughter, Danielle, "I know I'm not as interesting as The Little Mermaid and all that magical crap", but he always kept it real.

Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, this award winning, highly original film is highly recommended.

Summary: A corking film