That was an excellent one.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

I had never heard of Harvey Pekar or his work before "American Splendor" got released. Now that I've seen the movie, I'm impressed. The movie makes clear that Pekar (Paul Giamatti) didn't want to condescend to his audience. He just wanted to show life as it was. No sugar-coating, just the truth. As is often the cast with great artists, misery made for some fine work. An unusual trick that the movie uses is to intersperse footage of the real Pekar talking about why he created the cartoons that he did. He had some good things to say.Basically, this is what movies should be. It should go without saying that Giamatti does a perfect job as Pekar. Equal credit should go to Hope Davis as a fan whom he marries, as well as some other cast members (you gotta love what Pekar's friend says about "Revenge of the Nerds"). I'd also like to see the other movies directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. Definitely see it.Watch for a young Josh Hutcherson as the boy dressed as Robin.

This is just one of the most beautiful, honest, simple films ever made.It is the kind of film that I think about when my life is in the trenches.It was a story about real people, and we even got to meet them in the course of the film.I read the most popular review of this film for about two sentences, I'll admit that, but the obvious negativity about the review belied the reviewers clueless inability to see the bigger picture.And I say that lovingly....But honest to gosh, if you can't watch this film without getting all bitchy about details, then you should play it safe and stick to Chuck Norris.

Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's 'American Splendor' is one of the most unique and quirkiest biopics I've seen. It is one of a kind in terms of its execution especially in how the film moves in and out of Pekar's comic book world to the film where the actors portray the characters to the live footage of Pekar himself and the people in his life. This is very cleverly done. Not only does it enrich the viewing experience of the viewer but also allows the viewer to appreciate the artist and person that Pekar is. I hadn't known much about Pekar before nor heard of 'American Splendor' his underground comic book series but I am fascinated by comic books, the world therein that is created by the artists, the creativity and inspiration of the artists.Here the depiction of Pekar and the people in his life feels genuine and Pekar himself doesn't seem to have any objections. Moreover, what I also liked, is that he's brutally honest. He doesn't shy away from saying what his intention is with the film, what he expects to get.The theme is psychology is also crucial here and is well used. Joyce's preliminary diagnosis are amusing and not bad conjectures either. Pekar shows classic signs of depression and there's the lingering risk of relapse as he's, almost always, unhappy.The directors really bring out Pekar's amusingly weird yet likable world that is inhabited by awkward characters. The humour is a fine mix of dry, satire, somewhat dark and situational. The performances are superb. Even the presence of the people the film is based on does not intrude nor diminish the appreciation of what the actors have done. Giamatti, Davis and Friedlander are great as Pekar, Joyce and Toby's film counterparts. They're spot on. Pekar himself is great.Overall, 'American Splendor' is a delightfully quirky film and, in addition to being entertaining, it provides a splendid glimpse into the life of an unhappy man.

Comic book writer Harvey Pekar would probably be the first to tell you that he only agreed to a movie about himself for the money. He denounces all things glamorous or idealistic and a moving biopic about his life would contradict him entirely. That's why Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's choice to do an off-center biopic on Pekar in a quasi-documentary style is such a phenomenal direction for their film."American Splendor" features both Pekar himself doing a few on-the-set interviews and voice over narration as well as Paul Giamatti playing out key scenes in his life from befriending fellow artist Robert Crumb to meeting his wife Joyce (Hope Davis) to his odd string of appearances on David Letterman. It's not totally committed to one style over another which is its greatest strength and a bit of a weakness. Although it's so interesting to be able to compare the acting to the real people, at times it's distracting and breaks the illusion. For example, the real Pekar and his semi-autistic pal Toby chat on the movie's set while both actors playing them (Giamatti and Judah Friedlander) take five in the background.Rarely -- and certainly not this extensively -- does a film open itself up to scrutiny like "American Splendor" by allowing the audience to see both reality and its own fiction. Giamatti's performance becomes critically vulnerable with the real Pekar getting almost as much time on screen as he has, though he does do a good job juggling Pekar's many quirks from his dying voice to his tendency to add "man" to the end of every statement."American Splendor" also offers a few other unique directorial choices and sequences such as comic frames in the beginning to replicate comic books and including animated Harveys and thought bubbles into live action. These are generally effective, but they lack continuity. Each scene where traditional cinema is broken get its own treatment; the shift from biopic to documentary is the only constant.Consequently, we've never gotten acquainted with the focal character of another biographical film like we get to know Harvey Pekar. I think anyone who watches the film and happens to meet Harvey afterward would feel like they'd known him for years. Part of it is his natural, quirky predictability, but the other is Berman and Pulcini's decision to give us a healthy dose of the man himself.Much like his American Splendor comics, the story of Harvey Pekar isn't extraordinary or fascinating but down to earth. Pekar didn't want to be anything but ordinary and he just happened to really like the underground comic scene. The film honors that wish by being the same way, so taking the title of the comics and using it for the movie is more than fitting. It had to be a challenge to adapt someone's autobiographical comic and make a biographical documentary about the person who wrote said comic about himself, but Berman and Pulcini make it work and in a highly original and inspiring way. ~Steven CVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.blogspot.com