5) American Splendor
American Splendor might not be to everyone’s tastes, but it’d take a brave man to deny the fact that it holds a well-earned, utterly unique place in the snug little corner of unconventional comic book cinema. Written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the movie delves deep into the life of comic book writer Harvey Pekar – a man who was inspired to compile the eponymous comic by drawing on his real life experiences and put them in print after meeting up with legendary scribbler Robert Crumb.
Pekar was an unabashedly bitter, cynical, and sour individual, and whilst his writing served as a cathartic outlet for much of his frustration, there were times when his irrepressible rage rose to the surface for all to see – most notably when he went into complete meltdown in front of live studio audience on the David Letterman show.
The film is peculiarly constructed, engaging in interviews with the real Harvey Pekar only to periodically fall back into its fictional recreation of the writer’s life – where he is portrayed with haunting accuracy by the ever-dependable Paul Giamatti. Only a smart movie could pull this off, and despite the decidedly ordinary and haggard appearance of its protagonist, American Splendor is undoubtedly superior to many of its comic book counterparts in terms of intelligence.
Adopting the same mind-set that served as the basis for much of Pekar’s work, American Splendor shows us the weird and wonderful happenings that occur on a day-to-day basis in the immediacy of the real world. Everyone is their own superhero fighting against their own villains, and society itself remains one giant comic book packed with colorful characters that’s repeatedly being rewritten and reproduced.