AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Released: August 15, 2003
I first recall seeimg Harvey Pekar on one of his many appearances on David Letterman. I was curious as to why Pekar was acting so gruff. But that's just the way he is. He was a file clerk working for peanuts for most of his adult life, got married twice and successfully beat cancer. And he also teamed up with Robert Crumb to write the stories in the underground comic book "American Splendor". And since Crumb got his own movie recently, why not Pekar? His movie self is played by Paul Giamatti. He not only aces the look and mannerisms of Pekar but handles his subject matter with the dignity it deserves. He doesn't merely play it up for laughs. There's a lot of tragedy and sadness in Pekar's life but Giamatti is flawless and you almost believe his IS Pekar, even with the real Pekar appearing in the film as well. Playing Pekar's second wife is one of my favorite actresses Hope Davis, who recently acted with Jack Nicholson in "About Schmidt". She totally transforms herself, much like Cameron Diaz did in "Being John Malkovich". You really lose any sense that these are actors. You feel they could really BE the characters they're playing. They're THAT good at what they do. Directed by the team of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (they co-wrote the screenplay too), "American Splendor" is refreshing because this is real people, flaws, fat, ugly and all - doing what they do. This really is a fine piece of movie making and I wouldn't be surprised if Giamatti was Oscar nominated for his role. Take a chance on "American Splendor" and see what else the multiplex has to offer aside from mindless sequels and big budget silliness.
101 Minutes
HBO Films/Fine Line Features/Warner Bros.