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RECommended Renting - American Splendor
I am an idiot. You know how sometimes when a film comes out, you say “I am definitely seeing that one,” and then for some reason or another you never get around to it? Then, when it comes out on video you girlfriend wants to get something with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, so you agree because you think it might get you laid. Before you know it you completely forget about that movie. Until, you’re walking around the video store one night, trying carefully to avoid Hugh Grant’s enticing smile on every other box cover, and you finally remember, “oh yeah I’ve been meaning to see that!”
Welcome to my discovery of American Splendor. The brilliant film that I finally got around to after four years. The film, for those not familiar, is the story of Harvey Pekar, the creator of the American Splendor comic book. Unlike Superman and Batman, American Splendor is a biographical comic about the life of a Cleveland file clerk. Sound boring, well it is, but fascinating just the same. As Pekar has said, “ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.”
The beauty of the film, directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, is that in many ways it is an extension of the comic. It is not particularly exciting or overly dramatic, it is simply a look at one man’s real life. The usually brilliant Paul Giamatti, plays Harvey perfectly. The real Pekar also appears in parts of the film as himself, so it is easy to see how convincing the role is. Hope Davis also appears as Harvey’s wife, Joyce.
It is cleverly directed and beautifully filmed. The characters, just as they are in the comic, are very real and completely engaging. If you haven’t seen it, you should. If you have, then you have a real gift for avoiding Hugh Grant’s charm. Congratulations!
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2 Responses to “RECommended Renting - American Splendor”
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Man, you sure do hate Hugh Grant … almost as much as you love Giamatti.
Consider this on my list of must gets Chris! I only have 11 more Grant films to see before I’m allowed to rent something else. WOO HOO!