American Splendor (2003)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Directors:

Shari Springer Berman
Robert Pulcini

Writers (WGA):

Harvey Pekar (comic book series American Splendor) and
Joyce Brabner (comic book series Our Cancer Year) ...

Release Date:

12 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.

Plot:

An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.

Plot Keywords:

Comic Book | Crumb | Celebrity | Hospital | Underground

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 28 wins & 32 nominations

Cast

Chris Ambrose	...	Superman
Joey Krajcar	...	Batman
Josh Hutcherson	...	Robin
Cameron Carter	...	Green Lantern
Daniel Tay	...	Young Harvey
Mary Faktor	...	Housewife
Paul Giamatti	...	Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar	...	Real Harvey
Shari Springer Berman	...	Interviewer (voice)
Larry John Meyers	...	Throat Doctor (as Larry John Myers)
Vivienne Benesch	...	Lana
Barbara Brown	...	Nurse
Earl Billings	...	Mr. Boats
Danny Hoch	...	Marty
James Urbaniak	...	Robert Crumb

Also Known As:

American Splendor (Greece) [el]
Anti-Herói Americano (Brazil) [pt]
Esplendor americano (Argentina) [es]
Görkemli hayatim (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #39761) | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Germany:6 | Iceland:LH | Mexico:B | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Good Machine

Trivia:

'Rob Schneider' and Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for an early film version of the book.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The red and white Ohio license plate on Toby's station wagon was actually in use during the years of 1976-1979. Since he was going to see "Revenge of the Nerds" which was released in 1984, the correct Ohio license plate for the time period would have been blue lettering on a white background which was issued during 1980-1984.

Quotes:

Real Joyce: See, I thought I was marrying somebody with a sense of humor.
Real Harvey: I guess I fooled you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

American Classic

-Can't explain it but America seems to be fixated on watching other people's life. be it the MTV smash "Real World" or the video game "the Sims" and now comic books. Pretty soon someone will release a CD featuring the sounds they make as they move on with their everyday life.

-In what can be called one of the best biopics around American Splendor is adaptation of the underground comic hit of the same name. It chronicles the life of Harvey Pekar, *who is played to perfection by Paul Giamatti* an everyday man whose life has been turned into a comic. he is a very frugal man, works the same job day in day out, and is happy with any girl that he gets be it she's his type or not. he is not happy with his physique and refers to it as a reliable disappointment. As the movie begins his 2nd wife is leaving him, he has lost his voice and he has a very healthy obsession with jazz records. He meets a man at a yard sale who he later on convinces to publish his comic book. He agrees and the comic becomes a smash. he becomes a celebrity in his own right and meets his 3rd wife through that process. He appears on Dave Letterman and has merchandise from his comic. The movie is told with great visual style where sometimes we see the real Pekar next to Giamatti and sometimes we see it as a comic strip. All this takes the movie from great to perfect. The beautiful Hope Davis also does a great job of playing Pekar's wife who stays with him throughout all his trials. It's weird but no matter what Hope Davis does or looks like she always manages to look beautiful

-With great acting, great story, and downright enjoyable experience "American Splendor" is an American masterpiece