Cast: Paul Giamatti, Harvey Pekar, Hope Davis, Joyce Babner, Madylin Sweeten, Danielle Batone, James Urbaniak, Judah Friedlander, Toby Radloff
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Producer: Ted Hope
Screenplay: Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini, based on the comic books "American Splendor" and "Our Cancer Year" by Harvey Pekar & Joyce Brabner
Cinematography: Terry Stacey
Music: Mark Suozzo
U.S. Distributor: Fine Line Features
These days, motion picture adaptations of comic books are extremely popular. However, it is unlikely that fans of X-Men, Spider-Man, and Hulk will flock to American Splendor. Although based on a comic book, this is a movie of a much different sort. To begin with, the protagonist, Harvey Pekar, is devoid of anything resembling a superpower. In fact, he's an ordinary guy with an ordinary job and an ordinary family whose noteworthy characteristics are his acerbic wit and his obsessive/compulsive personality.
Harvey Pekar started his "American Splendor" comic book in 1976. His autobiographical approach was radical: create a story about a normal curmudgeon going about his everyday routine. Because Harvey was not an artist (his draft renderings of people were stick figures), he initially collaborated with underground comic legend R. Crumb (and later others) to illustrate his books. Initially, the "American Splendor" volumes came out about once a year and had a very small circulation. Over the years, they developed a limited (but passionate) following, and Harvey became something of a cult figure, appearing on "Late Night with David Letterman" multiple times during the late-1980s and early 1990s (his final appearance, to date, was in 1994). In the early 1990s, Dark Horse comics took over publication of "American Splendor," which resulted in enhanced readership. Harvey soon became a well-known print and radio commentator, and the release of this movie marks another rung in a long ladder to widespread recognition.
In keeping with Harvey's unorthodox approach to comic books and pop culture, the movie eschews the traditional structure of a common biopic. Instead, we are treated to a production that is part narrative, part documentary, and part animation. Harvey is represented in at least five different ways: as brilliantly played by character actor Paul Giamatti, as himself in new footage shot for the film, in old clips from the David Letterman show, as animated cartoons, and (briefly) by actor Donal Logue in a stage play. Similar multiple renderings occur for Harvey's wife, Joyce Babner (played by Hope Davis in some scenes), his adopted daughter, Danielle (played by Madylin Sweeten), and his co-worker, uber-nerd Toby Radloff (played by Judah Friedlander).
American Splendor opens with a brief scene in 1950 that shows Harvey trick-or-treating. Everyone around him is dressed in a costume - Batman, Robin, Superman, the Green Lantern - but Harvey decides to make the rounds as himself. With the exception of a brief sequence in 1962 that shows how Harvey met R. Crumb, the rest of the movie transpires in the late 1970s and 1980s. American Splendor depicts how Harvey started the comic; how he met and married Joyce (his third wife); how he became a semi-regular on Letterman's show, then lost his guest status when he blasted GE (which owned NBC); and how he engaged in a battle with cancer. Along the way, we meet other mainstays from the comic, including the semi-famous Toby Radloff, who once drove more than 200 miles (round-trip) to see Revenge of the Nerds.
From a creative and visual standpoint, the movie does plenty of interesting things to liven up the narrative. The voiceover is provided by the real Harvey Pekar, who also appears in a number of scenes, sometimes being interviewed documentary-style and other times interacting with Paul Giamatti. Some of the Lettermen sequences use the actual footage, although one is a re-creation (using Giamatti and a stand-in for Letterman who looks and sounds nothing like the late-night host). There are also a few animated moments, and, on at least one occasion, cartoon versions of Harvey interact with live-action actors, although the effect is somewhat less impressive than in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
American Splendor sets its agenda early. "If you're the kind of person looking for romance or fantasy or escapism," Harvey intones in a voiceover, "You've got the wrong movie." Indeed, although Harvey and Joyce become a couple, it's less of a love match than it is a meeting of two codependent people with similar neuroses. Despite gaining a measure of fame, Harvey never makes enough money to be able to quit his job as a file clerk at a Cleveland V.A. hospital. He describes himself as "a gloomy guy" and Letterman says, "You look like every police artist's sketch I've ever seen."
Like Crumb, Terry Zwigoff's landmark documentary, American Splendor is a compelling character study of an important figure in underground comics. The film does such a good job of developing Harvey as a character that it ultimately becomes transparent whether we're seeing the real man or his Giamatti-acted alter-ego. And, despite the fact that Giamatti doesn't really look like Harvey (although he has perfected many of his mannerisms), the illusion is not broken every time the movie switches back and forth.
For Giamatti, a character actor who often plays losers, American Splendor represents an opportunity to take center stage. He rises to the challenge, turning in a career-making performance. Hope Davis is nearly as astounding as Giamatti, adding this movie to a diverse resume that includes the likes of Next Stop Wonderland and About Schmidt. The lack of a high profile actor gives American Splendor a deeper sense of realism than it might otherwise have. (Odd to be using the term "realism" about a movie that includes animation…)
This is the first feature for co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who had previously collaborated on three documentaries. Producer Ted Hope, a big fan of the "American Splendor" comic books, hand-picked them for the job, and his faith was rewarded as they turned in one of the most inventive motion pictures of the year. The movie was honored by winning both the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes (where it was identified as being one of the few "bright spots" on a roster of bleak films). American Splendor is deserving of such accolades, not only because it tells an interesting story about a fascinating man, but because it does so with such freedom and freshness. I wish more of the comic book-inspired movies were like this.
© 2003 James Berardinelli