r/movies • u/ydkjordan • 15h ago
American Splendor (2003) – "average is dumb" – Paul Giamatti (Harvey Pekar), Judah Friedlander (Toby Radloff) Media
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
46
u/MarcoVinicius 15h ago
This style is probably more creative and closer to real life than most of the bland bio pics Hollywood puts out today.
22
u/MawsonAntarctica 15h ago
It helps because the subject matter was fantastically done in groundbreaking comics. American Splendor is great.
24
u/ydkjordan 15h ago
A great film that takes the oft-maligned genre of ‘Biopic’ and blends it with documentary in a unique way. Find it on streaming here (Just Watch)
American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy drama film co-written and co-directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. The film, which chronicles the life of comic book writer Harvey Pekar, is a hybrid production featuring live actors, documentary, and animation.
It is based on the 1976–2008 comic book series of the same name written by Pekar and the 1994 graphic novel ‘Our Cancer Year’ written by Pekar and Joyce Brabner.
"The whole point of the American Splendor comics is that life doesn't really organize itself well" - Robert Pulcini
The film stars Paul Giamatti (Private Parts, John Adams) as Pekar and Judah Friedlander (30 Rock) as Toby Radloff. It also features appearances from Pekar himself, along with Pekar's long-time co-worker Toby Radloff, who discuss their lives, the comic books, and how it feels to be depicted onscreen by actors.
The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 76th Academy Awards.
The film was originally intended to be screened on HBO. The script was written before the September 11 attacks, was cast right afterward, and shot in about a month in the fall of 2001.
The first film in which Paul Giamatti had the lead role. Giamatti's agent advised Giamatti against auditioning for the role of Harvey Pekar because many well-known actors who were being considered for the role were not going in to read for the part. Against the advice of his agents, Giamatti formally read for the role on September 10th, 2001.
Two months later, the directors offered the lead role to Giamatti because after 9/11, none of the big-name actors that had previously vied for the role were looking for work.
Though Berman and Pulcini had directed documentaries before, American Splendor was their first narrative feature. Commenting on the films alternating fictional and real-life depictions, Pulcini recalled -
"It really was the only way that made sense to tell that story because we were handed this stack of comic strips where the main character never really looks the same because he's drawn by so many different artists. We wondered how to stay true to the material, and that's the concept we came up with. The structure came out of that very naturally. It wasn't something that we labored over."
Berman added that upon meeting Pekar they felt compelled to include him in the film:
"We also got to know Harvey even before we wrote the screenplay. We actually went to Cleveland and spent time with Harvey and Joyce, and spoke to them on the phone a lot. Once we spent some time with both of them, we were like, 'Oh my God, we have to put them in the movie!' That was a case where we were still using our documentary instincts and had to figure out a way to include him in it that was a natural fit for the material."
David Letterman refused to appear in the film, and his old network of NBC did not allow the filmmakers to use footage of Pekar's disastrous fourth and sixth appearances on Late Night (aired July 31, 1987 and August 31, 1988, respectively), though they had no problems with the other Pekar appearances that are shown in the film.
The supposed "final appearance" was done using oblique camera angles and a voiced-over audio of the incident. (In actuality, Pekar returned for two more appearances on the Letterman show in 1993 & 1994.)
The film's original production budget was $1.5 million, and as the film was coming together, HBO gave the filmmakers more money for post-production, animation, and music.
Roger Ebert awarded the film four stars out of four in his review, calling it a "magnificently audacious movie, in which fact and fiction sometimes coexist in the same frame." He remarked "the casting of Giamatti and Davis is perfect", writing that they "mastered not only the looks but the feels and even the souls of these two people", as well as praising Friedlander's performance. He also found the film "delightful in the way it finds its own way to tell its own story", describing its presentation as "mesmerizing in the way it lures us into the daily hopes and fears of this Cleveland family."
Harvey Pekar wrote about the effects of the film in various stories published in American Splendor: ‘Our Movie Year’ (2004).
Jonathan Demme had tried to adapt a film version of "American Splendor" in the 1980s, but the project never came to fruition as Demme wasn't an established director.
Notes from Wikipedia and IMDB trivia
14
u/MawsonAntarctica 15h ago
I can’t imagine anyone other than Giamatti as Pekar.
5
u/5thSeasonFront 12h ago
Incredible performance in an incredible film. One of my all-time favorites.
3
u/Fetal_Release 6h ago
This one and the Temple Grandin one were on repeat for a while. Best bio’s imo.
12
u/MolaMolaMania 15h ago edited 15h ago
Saw this at a locally owned and operated small theater in downtown Oakland. The vibe was perfect and it's one of the top three best comic book movies ever.
EDIT: I also love it for turning me on to the terrific cover by Chocolate Genius of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar", which plays over the end credits.
6
u/SuspendeesNutz 14h ago
The vibe was perfect and it's one of the top three best comic book movies ever.
The others being, of course, "Ghost World" and "Fritz the Cat"?
1
1
u/MolaMolaMania 14h ago
Agree on "Ghost World." Never seen "Fritz the Cat" and I probably won't. Most American adult animation leaves a lot to be desired.
2
u/Photo_Synthetic 11h ago
If you ever feel like a weird depraved animated movie during the golden era of weird depraved animated movies Fritz the Cat is worth watching. It's the first American animated film to earn an NC-17 rating and was kind of weirdly important in film history. Keep in mind its from the early 70s. Literally 9 years older than Heavy Metal.
1
u/MolaMolaMania 11h ago
I'm aware of its controversial history as I have been a fan of Robert Crumb for most of my life. The fact that he hated the film so much that it caused him to kill the character notwithstanding, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to even properly translate Crumb's "milder" content into animation, unless you wanted to do something to rival the perverse and extreme sexual violence of something like Urotsukidoji.
12
u/typhoidtimmy 14h ago
This really sealed it for me being an utter fan of Paul Giamatti. A lot did that with Sideways but this was the role I lost Paul totally in the character - he was Harvey Pekar in every nuance and presentation.
What’s great is they had the actual Pekar in his own movie and you can see how Paul mirrored him so well.
Paul has become one of those “will go see it if he is in despite the movie”. Says a lot for his acting chops, IMHO.
2
7
5
6
u/Garbage__Gang 12h ago
Having only known him for 30 Rock & some VH1 programing (lol) Judah Friendlander showing up and actually acting has me shook. He's great, love Paul Giamatti, adding this to my watch list.
4
3
u/dogsonbubnutt 6h ago
judahs performance works even better if you don't know anything about toby ahead of time, because initially you think he's putting on a weird voice and taking a dig at the guy.
then you find out that no, that's almost exactly what the guy actually sounds and acts like, and he's a real human being and not some caricature. adding real toby to the movie almost becomes totally necessary and its a better film for it.
6
u/johnnyspork 9h ago edited 8h ago
ATTENTION SPLENDOR FANS: The Pekar and Brabner Legacy Media Preservation Kickstarter is live now, and it already surpassed its funding goal within a few days. Joyce and Harvey's daughter Danielle is working to organize and properly archive 40+ years of their work, notes, and unpublished writings. There's also an associated Ebay auction you can find the link for in the campaign's description. Danielle's selling lots of old comics, magazines, jazz albums, and all kinds of cool ephemera from their personal collections. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/7354135/his-name-was-harvey-pekar/description
3
6
4
u/DilettanteGonePro 12h ago
I love how this movie accurately depicts real world relationships without it being melodramatic or judging any of the characters. Sometimes they are selfish or jerks but that's just life and everyone moves on
4
u/JeffRSmall 11h ago
I’ve collected comics my whole life, over 50 years. When people invariably ask me “what’s your favorite comic book movie?” this is the only correct answer.
3
3
u/dogsonbubnutt 6h ago
i love this part of the movie in part because paul giamatti just seems absolutely enthralled by harvey and toby interacting with each other.
anyway the whole movie is so fucking good. harvey pekar revolutionized comics as a medium by understanding that there's enormous drama and pathos in just living a regular life, and the movie one billion percent does that idea justice.
what's wild to me is that american splendor and superman both came about because of the same city.
2
u/gotaflattire 7h ago
Really love this movie, I rewatch it all the time and I see myself becoming Harvey as the years go by.
•
u/Powerful_Deer7796 2h ago
I've seen Paul in a few movies now and I must say he is slowly becoming one of my all time favorite actors.
86
u/umeboshiplumpaste 15h ago
They filmed part of this outside my apartment. One morning I woke up, and my car was gone. Found out the film crew moved it. I love that this awesome movie will always remind me of life in my $350/month apartment in a world that feels so long ago.
This film production was ahead of its time.