Never having heard of Harvey Pekar or the American Splendor comics, I had no idea what to expect, especially since the DVD cover makes it sound like some sort of romcom. Instead what you get is a very edgy yet polished, medium-bending presentation every bit as revolutionary as the original comic books were.
What I mean by "medium-bending" is that the storytelling medium (mostly biopic cinema) slips from film to documentary archival footage to comic book images seamlessly. We begin with a series of comic book panels, this morphs into Paul Giamatti as Harvey Pekar, then to the real Harvey as himself being interviewed about the movie, then back to Paul playing the role, more comic book panels, then footage of the real Harvey on the Letterman show, and so on. If it sounds confusing, it's not. Especially when you realize that the original American Splendor comics were drawn by several different illustrators each with their own style, you realize that this disjoint way of storytelling captures the spirit of the comics perfectly. A+ for creativity and originality; it reminded me of the excellent film "Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story" with Steve Coogan playing himself while also playing the 18th century nobleman Tristram, hopping back & forth from one reality to the other.
The story itself and particularly the characters were quirky but nothing out of the ordinary... and that's the point of the whole comic series. It's not about superheroes or talking cats but instead it's about an ordinary file clerk in Cleveland. His "adventures" are the day-to- day things that happen in his life, some days eventful, other days not so.
As such, the plot is about as interesting as any average joe's life. The beauty of the film is seeing how an ordinary life can be creatively and stylishly told, just like in the comic books.
I can't think of many films I could compare this to. Maybe the musical biopic "De-Lovely" about composer Cole Porter, or the equally challenging musical biopic "Beyond the Sea" starring Kevin Spacey as singer Bobby Darin. All of these are biopic films that brazenly challenge the standard method of storytelling, jumping between different realities and telling stories about people who are not necessarily heroic, or even likable. But that's what reality is all about, warts & all.
What I mean by "medium-bending" is that the storytelling medium (mostly biopic cinema) slips from film to documentary archival footage to comic book images seamlessly. We begin with a series of comic book panels, this morphs into Paul Giamatti as Harvey Pekar, then to the real Harvey as himself being interviewed about the movie, then back to Paul playing the role, more comic book panels, then footage of the real Harvey on the Letterman show, and so on. If it sounds confusing, it's not. Especially when you realize that the original American Splendor comics were drawn by several different illustrators each with their own style, you realize that this disjoint way of storytelling captures the spirit of the comics perfectly. A+ for creativity and originality; it reminded me of the excellent film "Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story" with Steve Coogan playing himself while also playing the 18th century nobleman Tristram, hopping back & forth from one reality to the other.
The story itself and particularly the characters were quirky but nothing out of the ordinary... and that's the point of the whole comic series. It's not about superheroes or talking cats but instead it's about an ordinary file clerk in Cleveland. His "adventures" are the day-to- day things that happen in his life, some days eventful, other days not so.
As such, the plot is about as interesting as any average joe's life. The beauty of the film is seeing how an ordinary life can be creatively and stylishly told, just like in the comic books.
I can't think of many films I could compare this to. Maybe the musical biopic "De-Lovely" about composer Cole Porter, or the equally challenging musical biopic "Beyond the Sea" starring Kevin Spacey as singer Bobby Darin. All of these are biopic films that brazenly challenge the standard method of storytelling, jumping between different realities and telling stories about people who are not necessarily heroic, or even likable. But that's what reality is all about, warts & all.