In 'American Splendor', Paul Giamatti stars as Harvey Pekar. ...but Harvey Pekar is also Harvey Pekar. As are several cartoons, voiced by Giamatti. The movie tells Pekar's life story, showing how he turned his dead-end life as an everyman file-clerk in Cleveland into one of the all-time great comic books. "There's me," narrates the real-life Pekar, as Giamatti wanders up the street, a scowl on his face. "Or at least the actor who's supposed to be me, even if he doesn't look a thing like me." The movie seamlessly blends animated versions of Pekar's strips with interviews from the man himself -- all integrated into the film starring Giamatti, and Hope Davis as Harvey's wife Joyce. If it sounds confusing, it's not. What co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini have accomplished here is work of purely unique creativity, like nothing you've ever seen. And it works on every level, as a documentary, a bio-pic, and a tragicomedy. Is it funny? At times, but it's hardly a gut-buster. Giamatti plays Harvey as a man completely self-aware -- he knows the people around him are absurd, and he strikes a half-grin before saying things, the cogs in his head already working them into Splendor's next issue. Not to be missed.
FINAL SCORE: 8.8/10 = A-
The movie won the Grand Jury Prize as Best Picture at Sundance 2003, before winning the International Critics Prize at Cannes later that year. And with good reason. Giamatti delivers another knock-out performance, and the movie is a dazzling display of originality. Is it the greatest story ever told? No, but it's truth. And like Harvey is so fond of saying, "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff."
FINAL SCORE: 8.8/10 = A-
The movie won the Grand Jury Prize as Best Picture at Sundance 2003, before winning the International Critics Prize at Cannes later that year. And with good reason. Giamatti delivers another knock-out performance, and the movie is a dazzling display of originality. Is it the greatest story ever told? No, but it's truth. And like Harvey is so fond of saying, "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff."