American Splendor

Pros: Giamatti is brilliant in yet another role
Cons: Kind of slow in parts

According to Dictionary.com: splen·dor 1. Great light or luster; brilliance. 2. a. Magnificent appearance or display; grandeur. b. Something grand or magnificent. 3. Great fame; glory. American Splendor is part movie and ...

Pros: Harvey Pekar, Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, the whole idea of the thing.
Cons: Definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

You can have your Daredevil, your X-Men. your Hulk. Discuss amongst yoursel ...

Pros: Davis, Giamatti, unusual, very funny, unique characters
Cons: some might not like structure

Before Seinfeld was a show about nothing, American Splendor was a comic book with the same subject matter. While most people want to read comic books about super heroes, aliens, or extreme violence, Harvey Pekar decides that “ordinary l ...

Pros: Paul Giamatti, the "meta-docucomic" narrative, the Real Harvey Pekar
Cons: Becomes standard fare in its second half, I've already seen Crumb and Ghost World

"American Splendor" might have been more revolutionary if it had been made, oh, 10 years ago. But i ...

Pros: creative approach, very funny and enjoyable
Cons: not much action, not for everyone

There are those of us who live in "flyover country," what some have recently dubbed "Jesusland" following the odd electoral victory of that man from Texas. One of our pet peeves is to hear, in the midst of the Oscar campaign season, how there is some ...

Pros: Frequently clever; inter-geek romance is strangely charming.
Cons: Too amused by its own postmodern wit; consequently thin on plot.

R. Crumb is by no means one of my favorite artists. He’s not even one of my tolerated artists, really. I can grudgingly acknowledge his artistic influence on present-day comic books, and respect his contributions to his genre, but that’s about a ...

Pros: A Brilliant, Abstract Masterpiece on the Life of Harvey Pekar.
Cons: None though Some Will Be Turned Off By Its Subversive Approach.

The past few years in cinema have seen a lot of movies inspired by comic books. Hollywood recently, after the recent debacle of the “Batman” franchise, has taken a chance at the comic book genre and scored recent hits with “Spider-Man” an ...

Pros: Paul Giamatti's performance is award-worthy and the structure is oft-fascinating
Cons: The story suffers when it becomes too linear.

American Splendor opens with a flashback to a Cleveland suburb in the 1950s. A group of kids ...

Pros: …
Cons: …

Had it not been for my brother, I might very well have passed over this movie. It gets its name from a series of comic books of the same name, written by Harvey Pekar., played in the movie by Paul Giamatti. (The real Pekar also appears in several ...

Pros: Writing, performances, narrative structure
Cons: None

In mainstream cinema, there seem to be two kinds of movies based on comics. The first kind being superheroes like Daredevil, Spiderman, X-Men, and the upcoming Batman Begins & Superman Returns. The other kind are the graphic novels, movies with a more ...

Pros: Warm, funny and honest.
Cons: Slightly over long.

In the opening scene of American Splendor, we see the major comic superheroes lined up on Hallowe'en. The Green Lantern, Spiderman, Superman. At the end of the line is a normal kid, with no costume. The candy distributor asks "Who are you supposed to ...

Pros: Clever narrative style, delightful mixing of documentary and reenactment.
Cons: Harvey Pekar is just not very significant or interesting.

I went to see this movie tonight having heard all of the great reviews of Paul Giamatti's performanc ...

Pros: Very creatively done.
Cons: None

Paul Giamatti stars in this "documentary" about Harvey Pekar, who writes an underground comic called "American Splendor." He writes the book based on his life, and the people and events he knows. Not exactly superhero fare, but it has quite a following. ...

Pros: Documentary on cult figures Harvey Pekar and Crumb
Cons: Not for everyone - not many people know who they are

I was predisposed to this film and I loved Crumb and have been a fan of his comic notably Felix the Cat and the Keep on Trucking fellow. Comic Books people are strange and smart people. There is a certain breed that loves comics. Pekar is the anti-he ...

Pros: Interesting, unique picture.
Cons: Monotonous, not life changing.

American Splendor is the true life story of a guy that is in a bad way. The story of Harvey Pekar is one of a down-and-out guy who writes about his life and the people he interacts with in a comic strip. I found this movie interesting, but at the same ...