Chris Daddy Cool
06-14-2005, 05:31 AM
American Splendor follows the life of underground comic book creator, Harvey Pekar, a less than average everyday man who holds a day job at a Cleveland hospital. In his comic, named American Splendor, he is able to express his interests, his joys, and his frustrations and failures through his every day life rather than write about unrealistic super heros a la Superman or the Green Hornet. Afterall Harvey says, "Ordinary life is pretty comlex stuff."
Pual Giamatti plays Harvey beatifully with his unusual quirks and mannerisms. This marks the beginning of three fantastic roles for Giamatti (Sideways and Cinderalla Man) and you can probably pinpoint his revitalized career to this movie.
Giamatti's excellent portrayel can probably be attributed to the fact that the actual Harvey Peckar helped with this film by appearing in the movie through interviews and such. His life's story, while full of mundane normality, oozes with witty conversations and a humorous outlook, which makes his comics, and this movie, interesting.
I'll be honest, I tried really hard to really like this movie, and I certainly did, but I was expecting something truely amazing given the reviews and high praise its recieved. While funny, I didn't find it exceptionally funny; while clever and witty, I didn't find it exceptionally so. While others called it excellent, I am calling it "merely" good.
This may sound like a negative review, but it really isn't. Actually American Splendor was very difficult to review because it is so different. However, I do recommend seeing it though.
SCORE: 7.5/10
Pual Giamatti plays Harvey beatifully with his unusual quirks and mannerisms. This marks the beginning of three fantastic roles for Giamatti (Sideways and Cinderalla Man) and you can probably pinpoint his revitalized career to this movie.
Giamatti's excellent portrayel can probably be attributed to the fact that the actual Harvey Peckar helped with this film by appearing in the movie through interviews and such. His life's story, while full of mundane normality, oozes with witty conversations and a humorous outlook, which makes his comics, and this movie, interesting.
I'll be honest, I tried really hard to really like this movie, and I certainly did, but I was expecting something truely amazing given the reviews and high praise its recieved. While funny, I didn't find it exceptionally funny; while clever and witty, I didn't find it exceptionally so. While others called it excellent, I am calling it "merely" good.
This may sound like a negative review, but it really isn't. Actually American Splendor was very difficult to review because it is so different. However, I do recommend seeing it though.
SCORE: 7.5/10