American Splendor
(2003)Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar in this Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film starring Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Saving Private Ryan).... More
Working a menial position at a hospital in his hometown of Cleveland, Pekar struggles daily to enrich his life by filling his free time with reading, writing, listening to jazz, and engaging in cerebral banter. When his buddy Robert Crumb earns wide acclaim for comic art, Harvey is inspired to write his own brand of comic books. American Splendor is hugely successful, but Harvey still finds his life lacking. Enter the equally depressive Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis), and united in co-dependence, the pair tackles life together.
Documentarian director duo Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's first foray into narrative film sees them intertwine fictional portrayals and real life appearances by Pekar and Brabner using an unorthodox combination of film, video and animation which won the pair the FIPRESCI Prize at Sundance Festival 2003.Hide
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Winner of FIPRESCI Prize (Cannes Film Festival 2003); Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film (Sundance Film Festival 2003).
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Directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, James Urbaniak, Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Daniel Tay, Donal Logue, Molly Shannon
Written by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini (based on the comic book series by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner)
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American Splendor
The Press Reviews
94%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Hugely enjoyable and very clever portrait of Harvey Pekar. Full Review
Magnificently audacious movie, in which fact and fiction sometimes coexist in the same frame. Full Review
Hilarious, moody and cantankerous. Full Review
Giamatti looks nothing like Pekar either in person or in his various cartoon guises, but in a warmly sympathetic performance he brings the character to grubby, soulful life. Full Review
The two documentarians in their feature debut hit an unbelievably rich vein of drama, humor, love, whimsy, psychological turmoil, commonplace travails, genuine trauma and artistic triumph. Full Review
It's a profound tribute to lives lived on the fringes of society -- to the introspective loners who are the most observant chroniclers of our times. Full Review
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