Bottom Line:
"American Splendor" is a marvelous and engaging biopic about the life of the talented underground comics writer, Harvey Pekar. The movie chronicles most of the major events in his life including his break into the comic industry, his marriage, and his painful bout with cancer.
Story Line:
When the film starts, Harvey Pekar is a grumpy and anonymous file clerk who is mostly disrespected by everyone. His first wife divorces him after she gets a doctorate because he isn't upwardly mobile enough for her tastes. He loses his voice so he can't even plead with his wife to stay.
He spends most of his time collecting jazz records, writing stories, and hanging out with his friend, the underground comic legend, Robert Crumb. He gives one of his stories to Crumb, who asks if he can illustrate it.
Pekar ends up starting his own strip called "American Splendor," and it becomes a sensation. He bases many of events and dialogue on his real life.
One day Pekar gets a letter from an admiring female fan and Pekar invites her to visit him. The two hit it off and marry quickly. She helps him get through cancer and the complications that come with fame.
The story doesn't sound very interesting, but the film is an inspiring slice of life that makes the mundane into high drama. Pekar makes an excellent if unlikely every man hero. If Pekar could become a celebrity then anyone can.
Tell me more:
The film deservedly won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Many critics have been raving about " Seabiscuit," but "American Splendor" is more likely to be remembered as the great American film of 2003. It takes far more chances and it avoids "Seabiscuit's cloying sentimentality.
Some of the best moments occur when the camera freeze frames a special event in Harvey's life and the shot is transformed into a comic panel, though this stylistic technique was used much better in "Tank Girl."
"American Splendor" makes most big budget comic films like "Hulk" and "Spiderman" seem lackluster and inconsequential. The film has more in common with the fine indy comic films "Ghostworld" and "Crumb." Robert Crumb appears as a character in this film too.
The film has some documentary type elements. Not surprising, as the directing team used to do documentaries and they are married. At some points, the real Harvey Pekar appears on-screen to play himself
It's still kind of early in the year, but "American Splendor" could be one of the strongest American films of 2003.
|