American Splendor (2003)

Directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini. Starring Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, Harvey Pekar, James Urbaniak, James McCaffrey, Toby Radloff, Joyce Brabner, Maggie Moore, Earl Billings. [R]

Using a shifting hybrid of dramatization, subject commentary, illustrations, and dynamic transitions between them, documentary filmmakers Berman and Pulcini create a distinctive and efficacious anti-biography of Harvey Pekar (a perfectly cast Giamatti), the sour, dyspeptic Cleveland writer whose words and ideas filled the pages of underground comic book “American Splendor.” Often as cantankerous and funny as its subject but also genuine and hopeful, few films offer a similar sort of experience (though it pairs well with the documentary Crumb and the quirky comedy Ghost World), and Giamatti and Davis (as Harvey’s third wife) are a joy to watch despite both being depressive and argumentative. Though the final third can’t match the inventive excitement of what came before—its depiction of Harvey’s cancer treatment is awfully facile—the overall effect both embraces and satirizes post-modernist victimhood. Friedlander’s performance as self-proclaimed nerd, Toby Radloff, initially feels like a mannered burlesque…until the real Radloff shows up and proves that it’s the real deal. The kid dressed up as Robin in the opening scene is Josh Hutcherson of The Hunger Games fame.

86/100