HondaReport.com Movie Review
Title: American Splendor
Pupule’s Rating: * * * ½ stars

MPPR Rating: R
Date of Viewing: October 6, 2003
Location: Varsity Theater

By Paul Honda
Monday, October 6, 2003

Grouch king Harvey Pekar’s egocentric telling of his own story may seem oft-putting to the casual movie fan who never heard of Splendor or even Robert Crumb. But Pekar’s brutal honesty both grates and lures those who have endured more than their share of car chases, frat flicks and million-dollar explosions. Wisely, co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Bob Pulcini let the story tell itself. A beautifully crafted jazz-oriented soundtrack—Pekar has been a lifelong jazz aficionado—rubs the eardrums just right. Damn, this was good.

The Hype: Pekar, once an almost-regular on Late Night with David Letterman, is a self-made artist—writer, actually—who worked as a file clerk at a hospital for decades. His no-B.S. style of writing in one of America’s pioneering underground comics worked well, all right, but how would it translate to the big screen? And, perhaps unfairly, how would tickets sell for a story about, well, ordinary life in blue-collar Cleveland?

Strengths: Off the bat, Pekar, as portrayed immaculately to the last grimace by Paul Giamatti in a brilliant performance, is Oscar the Grouch without green fur. Upon meeting Joyce (Hope Davis), who becomes his third wife within mere weeks of their first phone conversation, Pekar avoids eye contact, blurts “Just so you know, I’ve had a vasectomy,” and hurries out of the airport. And Joyce, mousey-looking (“I’m from the second-smallest state in the country”) but tough, stays right next to him. This is one of the few relationships Hollywood will ever permit to range between flippant tolerance and ecstatic mediocrity—far more accurately portraying marriage than almost all the films released this year alone.

Visually, the blend of Giamatti, Pekar (he appears sporadically throughout the film in a first-person narrative that is a key strength) and the other real-life characters (who are also portrayed by actors) in the flesh is nice. Then there’s the use of real Pekar/collaborating artist work that alternates at different pivotal points in the story, and that’s what separates this film from any other. For comic book nerds and fans like myself, this is an absolute treat.

Weaknesses: Scarcely any, but for the gaps in the story about Pekar’s childhood (except for the opening scene), family and first two marriages. Probably for the sake of efficiency and cost, only the meat of Pekar’s life story—the encouraging help of Crumb, meeting Joyce, surviving cancer, adopting Danielle—were included. I seriously find no weaknesses in this film. I just wanted more—at the beginning, the middle, and even the end. How Pekar feels about this film—which was years in the making—is well documented in cellulite. But I was hoping to see more of the real Pekar talk, and even Joyce—the real Joyce—a bit more. Perhaps that will happen in the DVD.

Best Scene: Early on, Pekar can’t even contain his hostility when his nerd-robot-speaking co-worker says that maybe Harvey “should believe in a higher power than himself. Then maybe you’d cheer up a little.” The humor isn’t lost on Pekar, who sneers but is temporarily kept off his usual wise-arse attack by the unexpected needle. But that isn’t the best scene in a film loaded with good scenes.

The best—and most poignant scene comes in the midst of Pekar’s battle with cancer. Joyce convinces Harvey to document his fight with the disease—which is later released as “Our Cancer Year” and honored with awards. Riddled with pain and rendered weak by chemotherapy, he is staring in the mirror for a long moment before waking Joyce and then asking, “If I die, will the story end there or will it continue without me, Joyce?” Pekar, facing his own mortality—and seeing how badly Joyce wants children—finally asks the question that even his soul had evaded. It is a turning point for Pekar, who admitted just moments before to Joyce that he didn’t have the strength to fight cancer. This scene shines in light of one of the later, subtle utterances Pekar makes, when he is no longer questioning a higher power. Instead, he acknowledges his own powerlessness. Seeing his wife’s care of children in need turn fruitful when they adopt Danielle—and seeing her world uplifted—is something Pekar dares to consecrate.

The final scene—Harvey, Joyce and Danielle hugging—is so NOT what the younger Pekar would have ever tolerated in film nor comic book pulp. He is not rich with money—though he totally admits he could use the “chunk of change” the movie will produce. But a smiling Pekar is enough to know that he doesn’t want anything hidden—not the warts, the “conversion” to hope, nor the gratification of having a family.

Worst Scene: Any shot of Pekar, or rather Giamatti, without his shirt on is enough to wish for a fast-forward switch. But we survive and move on.

Summary: You don’t have to be a fan of mainstream comic books, underground comics or even film to appreciate the simplicity and complexity of Pekar and his story. This film is not for any specific demographic. In fact, at Varsity Theater, there were Asian women in their 70s, a couple in their 20s, and to my complete and utter shock, single men in their 30s and 40s.

Discretionary notes: There’s a fair amount of cussing in this flick, mainly because Pekar is a sour dude much of the time. That’s acceptable for me, however, because the cussing isn’t done just to pierce our ears. It’s not something I’d take my 7-year-old nephew to, but a 15-year-old could grasp this film just fine. No gratuitous sex scenes, and no nudity except for the hairy back of Giamatti.

Extras: Check out the movie website for some cool art and stuff by Pekar and his gang. American Splendor website

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