This month’s selection was an HBO original movie in 2003, but it was made on a relatively low budget for the independent film circuit. In the era before comic-book movies arrived multiple times per year, American Splendor bucked the trend by treating its subject and creator, Harvey Pekar, as a man who was extraordinary because he was so ordinary. The real Pekar was just a filing clerk who managed to make a name for himself in comics by writing short stories about his life and the people he encountered, which he had drawn up by artists.
While Pekar and members of his family and friends appear as themselves in American Splendor, they are used primarily as commentators on the dramatization of their lives. Co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini cast Paul Giamatti in the lead as Harvey Pekar at a moment when Giamatti’s career in Hollywood was beginning to really take off. And his performance as Pekar is one of the big reasons why you should watch American Splendor in November.
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Paul Giamatti is terrific as a flawed and relatable man
The late Harvey Pekar would probably have admitted that he wasn’t always the easiest man to like. Most of what we know about Pekar comes from his stories, and he wasn’t afraid to own up to his shortcomings. Giamatti takes on all of Pekar’s persona and presents him as a disarmingly interesting guy who found a way to break the monotony of his life by making comics about his everyday existence.
It’s not all smooth sailing from there, as a good deal of the film adapts Pekar’s award-winning graphic novel, Our Cancer Year, which depicts his battle with lymphoma. Through that snapshot in time, we see the man beneath Pekar’s persona as he grapples with his mortality and wonders whether his life ever amounted to anything.
The supporting cast brings an eclectic group of people to life
One of the most compelling parts of Harvey’s story is his relationship with Joyce Brabner, as portrayed by Hope Davis in the film. Brabner is a woman who finds a kindred spirit in Pekar, and impulsively marries him when they emotionally connect shortly after meeting. But since real life isn’t all happy endings, there are things in their marriage that they struggle to see eye-to-eye about, including the topic of kids. Regardless, Brabner turns out to be a talented writer in her own right, and the co-author of Our Cancer Year.
Future 30 Rock co-star Judah Friedlander plays Harvey’s friend Toby Radloff, a self-described “genuine nerd” who is so stereotypically nerdy that MTV hired to essentially play himself as the network’s special correspondent in the ’80s. Friedlander is the most prominent supporting player in the movie other than Davis, and he makes the most of it. The Venture Bros. voice actor James Urbaniak also has a small supporting role as underground comics icon Robert Crumb, the writer/artist who encouraged Pekar to make comic books. It’s a small but important role in the movie.
Donal Logue, Saturday Night Live‘s Molly Shannon, and even The Hunger Games‘ Josh Hutcherson have cameos, although in Hutcherson’s case, this was his first on-screen appearance in a movie. The cameo players are just interesting footnotes, while Brabner and Friedlander help carry the film.
The film blurs the line between documentary and biopic
Some of the cleverest moments in the film feature a partially animated Harvey Pekar commenting on Giamatti’s Pekar, as well as other scenes that acknowledge the whole thing is a movie. But the movie adds additional depth by occasionally moving away from the dramatizations to let the real Pekar, Brabner, Radloff, and a few others share insights about their lives at the time. It’s easy to get caught up in the re-creations, but these interludes were a much-needed reminder that these are real people. And real people don’t always fit into the roles that Hollywood tries to make for them.
In his obituary, Pekar was quoted as saying, “Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It’s one thing after another. I’ve tried to control a chaotic universe. And it’s a losing battle. But I can’t let go. I’ve tried, but I can’t.” American Splendor captures Pekar’s struggle in 101 minutes on a relative shoestring budget, and it’s a fantastic film. You may never see another comic-book movie like this, because there was only one Harvey Pekar.
Watch American Splendor on Max.
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