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American Splendor (2003)
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Overview
User Rating:
Writers (WGA):
Harvey Pekar (comic book series American Splendor) andJoyce Brabner (comic book series Our Cancer Year) ...
more
Release Date:
12 September 2003 (USA) moreTagline:
Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.Plot:
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 28 wins & 32 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(56 articles)
Interview: Dean Haspiel on Act-i-vate, ‘Bored to Death’, and Jack Kirby (From The Flickcast. 26 October 2009, 9:00 AM, PDT)
James Gunn Reveals Exclusive Super Details
(From Atomic Popcorn. 22 September 2009, 6:30 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Russian doll more (211 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Chris Ambrose | ... | Superman |
| Joey Krajcar | ... | Batman |
 | Josh Hutcherson | ... | Robin |
| Cameron Carter | ... | Green Lantern |
 | Daniel Tay | ... | Young Harvey |
 | Mary Faktor | ... | Housewife |
 | Paul Giamatti | ... | Harvey Pekar |
| Harvey Pekar | ... | Real Harvey |
| Shari Springer Berman | ... | Interviewer (voice) |
| Larry John Meyers | ... | Throat Doctor (as Larry John Myers) |
| Vivienne Benesch | ... | Lana |
 | Barbara Brown | ... | Nurse |
 | Earl Billings | ... | Mr. Boats |
 | Danny Hoch | ... | Marty |
 | James Urbaniak | ... | Robert Crumb |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
101 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #39761) | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Germany:6 | Iceland:LH | Mexico:B | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15Fun Stuff
Trivia:
All of the "white room" documentary scenes were filmed in one day. moreGoofs:
Anachronisms: The red and white Ohio license plate on Toby's station wagon was actually in use during the years of 1976-1979. Since he was going to see "Revenge of the Nerds" which was released in 1984, the correct Ohio license plate for the time period would have been blue lettering on a white background which was issued during 1980-1984. moreQuotes:
Harvey Pekar: So... what are you worried about then?Joyce Brabner: Well, it's the way... it's the way all the different artists draw you.
Harvey Pekar: What?
Joyce Brabner: You know, I don't really know what to expect. Sometimes you look like a younger Brando... but then the way Crumb draws you, you look... like a hairy ape, with all these wavy, stinky lines undulating off your body. I don't really know what to expect.
Harvey Pekar: No, those are motion lines. I'm an active guy!
more
Soundtrack:
Hula Medley moreFAQ
How does it end?more
more (211 total)
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It's always hardest to write about what you love and I not only love, but also, to steal a joke from Woody Allen in ANNIE HALL, loaf, luff and lerve this magnificent film. Therefore this will be difficult. Here goes anyway...
No-one can possibly deny that this is innovative in its use of the real Harvey Pekar (and people from his life) frequently intruding into the fictionalised account. But this is more than just a neat trick. It works brilliantly. Instead of distancing the viewer from the narrative makes one feel more involved in the film's world. How dare this work? This kind of arty-farty stuff is usually guaranteed to annoy me - but this is nothing short of revelatory in its Russian doll-like idea of having fiction within fiction within fact...and you don't need to be some kind of high-brow film critic to appreciate it!
All the performances are gob-smackingly good, and there isn't one moment in the film that bores, irritates, patronises or rings a false note. The cast inhabit their roles like they were born to play them. and the determination not to idealise them or their situations, makes my cynical anti-Hollywood production values heart sing for joy.
Do not, I beg you, be put off by the epithet "cult" with which this film has been tarred as if it would appeal only to comic-book fans. No, the appeal here is universal - dealing with Pekar's existential worries and his search for the meaning in his life. It's criminal that American SPLENDOR with all its wit, heart and slickness isn't more highly regarded or more widely known.
Masterpiece.