Movie Splendor

Movie review of American Splendor (2003, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini)

I’ve never read the comic "American Splendor" so that wasn’t why I wanted to see this movie. Neither did I know about the directors of the movie or of Harvey Pekar. I ain’t that keen on Paul Giamatti either. So what was it that made me rent this one?

The first reason was my suddenly interest in comics. It’s been a part of my life for some months now. I been reading mangas (japanese comics) for a couple of years but those are just fun and peculiar, right? But taking the step into the graphic novel world took some time for me I must say. And that’s actually weird since many of my friends are self- taught comic experts. I think I wasn’t ready yet for what that universe could give me. But now I must say that I have been around the comic world (a small part of it) and frankly gotten to love (at least some of) them!

The second reason is that I usually have an eye for finding quirky feel good movies. And that’s good because I love them. Sure I can watch your typically Hollywood-teen comedy but I don’t get that much out of it. When I see a movie I want it to give something back to me. After seeing a movie I want to feel that there is some good in the world and be inspired to participate in that goodness (which can of course also be done through a tragedy!)

The third reason is that one of my courses in the university this semester is about documentary film and photography. These weeks we have been discussing how history is being portraited through documentary and fiction film. An interesting subject that I won’t go in to more here. Anyway, it’s interesting to see how historical persons and events are being portraited. And it’s also interesting to look at different types of documentaries and historical fiction.


"American Splendor" - the movie portraits a man who is still alive that writes comics (about his daily life and his surroundings). I thought the movie would be only a fictional version of Pekars life but I was surprised. And I mean good surprised. Cause the movie switches between being fictional with actors and documentary with interviews with the real persons. Pekar himself also has the voice- over during the film and he actually points out one time when you see Giamatti as Pekar that it doesn’t look like him!

It’s a quiet movie. It’s about normal people, and yes normal people are quirky and awkward. It’s part of being normal. I laughed during the movie though I wouldn’t call it a comedy. Hollywood comedies don’t make me laugh. But in "American Splendor" I laughed with the characters and not of them. The persons are so real, so sincere, that they don’t come of as weird or stupid. It’s a warm movie. And it made me want to read the comic (which I guess also was the whole idea with the movie!).

I highly recommend this movie but I guess you have to be a little quirky yourself (and able to be self ironic about it) to enjoy it as much as I did.