American Splendor
BBBB
(out of 5)
The second, non-special effects-laden film to come out of a graphic novel or comic strip turns out to be almost as good as the first (Ghost World). Harvey Pekar, a painfully ordinary guy with an equally average life, started serializing his personal experiences in graphic form thanks to the inspiration of his highly successful artist pal Robert Crumb (subject of the documentary Crumb, which was directed by Ghost World‘s director Terry Zwigoff). This textured film features interviews with the real Pekar and his wife Joyce Brabner in between various exceptionally well-acted scenes starring Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis as the quirky couple. Pekar has a mind-numbing job in a hospital filing room, and sadly never makes enough off of his comics to get himself out of that mundane day job. He does, however, find within the confines of his job and his social life the inspiration needed to keep doing his work. Giamatti definitely gets a lot of attention for his work, but the shocking revelation comes from a nearly unrecognisable Davis as Brabner; losing her pretty blond hair and hiding behind a giant pair of glasses, Davis is uncannily similar in voice and manner to the real person and gives even her smallest moments a lot of dramatic weight. James Urbaniak is also fantastic in his too few scenes as the incredibly odd Crumb. Directed with finesse and a creative style that thankfully never gets ahead of itself, this is a witty and intelligent examination of some very interesting characters.
Good Machine, Dark Horse Entertainment
USA, 2003
Directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Screenplay by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, based on the comic book series American Splendor by Harvey Pekar, and the comic book series Our Cancer Year by Joyce Brabner
Cinematography by Terry Stacey
Produced by Ted Hope
Music by Mark Suozzo
Production Design by Therese DePrez
Costume Design by Michael Wilkinson
Film Editing by Robert Pulcini
Independent Spirit Awards 2003.
New York Film Critics Awards 2003.
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This entry was posted on June 1, 2013 by Bil Antoniou in 111toformat, 2003, BBBB, Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman and tagged Academy Award 2003, Allen Branstein, Amy K. Harmon, Barbara Brown, Bianca Santos, Cameron Carter, Charles Eduardos, Chris Ambrose, Daniel Tay, Danielle Batone, Danny Hoch, Dark Horse Entertainment, Dick Prochaska, Donal Logue, Earl Billings, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Eli Ganias, Eytan Mirsky, Golden Globe 2003, Good Machine, Harvey Pekar, Hope Davis, James McCaffrey, James Urbaniak, Jason Stevens, Jeff Peters, Jesse Perez, Joey Krajcar, Josh Hutcherson, Joyce Brabner, Judah Friedlander, Larry John Meyers, Madylin Sweeten, Maggie Moore, Mark Suozzo, Mary Faktor, Michael Wilkinson, Mike Rad, Molly Shannon, New York Film Critics 2003, Nick Baxter, Ola Creston, Patrick Lafferty, Paul Giamatti, Rebecca Borger, Rob Grader, Robert J. Williams, Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman, Spirit Awards 2003, Sylvia Kauders, Ted Hope, Terrence Sullivan, Terry Stacey, Therese DePrez, Toby Radloff, Todd Cummings, Vivienne Benesch.Shortlink
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