Barnes & Noble

For sheer audacity, it's hard to beat American Splendor, which mixes reality and make-believe in a dazzling tour de force. Based on the highly regarded graphic novel of the same name, Splendor follows the everyday exploits of Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti), a self-described "schlub" who works as a file clerk in a veterans' hospital by day and collects books and records the rest of the time. Inspired to write a comic-book account of his daily life -- putting all his gripes, insecurities, and paranoia into print -- Pekar becomes a cult celebrity and attracts the attentions of Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis), a comic-shop manager who's a bit of a schlub herself. Husband-and-wife directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, documentary makers for whom this is a fiction debut, could have adapted Pekar's story in a straightforward manner, but they spice things up by including footage of the real Pekar and Brabner, blurring the line between fiction and reality. Moreover, some sequences unfold in comic-book style, moving in and out of the world created in the live-action footage. Pekar's existential angst translates to film surprisingly well, thanks in no small part to Giamatti, usually a dependable supporting player, who here proves himself eminently capable of carrying a picture. Davis, a talented performer with an impressive track record of playing vulnerable, emotionally damaged characters, is equally impressive as Brabner; seeing the real Joyce on screen will demonstrate just how well Davis captured her. For all the inspired kvetching -- which is what made Pekar an underground sensation and earned him invites to David Letterman's TV show -- American Splendor has a puckish, buoyant tone that makes it irresistible. It's one of the most imaginative movies you're likely to see in a very long time. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

The documentary directing team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman makes their narrative feature debut with the biographical comedy drama American Splendor. Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) is a comic book writer inspired by the work of his friend Robert Crumb (James Urbaniak). Pekar writes his comics about the sad monotony of everyday life, based on his own life in Cleveland, OH, working as a file clerk at a veteran's hospital and spending his time reading books and listening to jazz. He meets up with Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis) and they enjoy a depressive relationship together. The filmmakers employ a combination of live-action film, video, and animation, including narration and commentary from the real-life Harvey Pekar. The screenplay was based on Pekar's comic book series American Splendor, which he has been writing since 1976 on Dark Horse Comics, and the 1994 book-length comic Our Cancer Year, written by Pekar and Brabner. American Splendor won the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Andrea LeVasseur

Entertainment Weekly

American Splendor presents Pekar as drawn on the page, Pekar as brilliantly interpreted by Paul Giamatti, and the actual Pekar, in the double role of narrator and interview subject -- sometimes all at once. The magic act is thrilling, and truly surprising. Lisa Schwarzbaum

Chicago Sun-Times

This film is delightful in the way it finds its own way to tell its own story. There was no model to draw on, but Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who wrote and directed it, have made a great film by trusting to Pekar's artistic credo. Roger Ebert

Boston Globe

The movie is pricelessly comic -- the Harvey/Joyce scenes catalog the couple's neuroses with glee -- but it just as often reaches for something richer. Ty Burr

Product Details

• UPC: 026359203121
• Source: HBO HOME VIDEO
• Aspect Ratio: Alternate Wide Screen (1.78:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Surround
• Language: English
• Time: 1:41:00
• Sales Rank: 10,790

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