I don't know how to describe this movie without saying like a beatnik, so here it goes: American Splendor is real, man. It's just so...real. You know what I mean, man?

Now that I have that out of my system, let me tell you why Shari...
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I don't know how to describe this movie without saying like a beatnik, so here it goes: American Splendor is real, man. It's just so...real. You know what I mean, man?

Now that I have that out of my system, let me tell you why Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's American Splendor is one of the best movies of the year thus far. Based on the collection of comics by Harvey Pekar which describes his daily trials and tribulations, Splendor focuses on Pekar's rise to popularity, his third marriage, his stint on David Letterman, and his battle with cancer. While this may look like a mishmash of varied topics in a film desperately trying to straddle the line between an Oscar-pandering biopic and a quirky independent film, these two extremely talented directors make a film that not only handles each of these episodes extremely well, they do so with such visual flair and creativity that the film never feels cliche or pandering. Actually, American Splendor feels like one of the freshest films to hit screens in the past decade.

But beyond the expert direction you have the wonderfully realized Pekar on screen, expertly adapted by Berman and Pulcini and given a pitch-perfect performance by Paul Giamatti. Now you've probably seen Giamatti in a supporting role in such films as Man on the Moon, Saving Private Ryan, and The Truman Show. And he's been solid in each of those roles. But here, he is Pekar — a curmudgeonly file clerk who's pissed off at the world and finds fault with everything. Doesn't sound like a character you want to spend 100 minutes with, but Giamatti adds a wonderful sadness and everyman quality to the character. I never once found myself irritated or disliking Pekar. I was rooting for him. This is the second male performance I've seen this year which I think deserves Oscar attention (the other being Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean). For his part, the real Pekar comes off as a nice guy who's just amused by this whole movie-thing. Alongside Giamatti is Hope Davis, turning in another subtle yet strong performance (her other one this year was in The Secret Lives of Dentists) as Harvey's wife Joyce. But the breakout performance is the Judah Friedlander's frighteningly accurate portrayal of Pekar's friend, uber-nerd Toby. Again, a character that you could easily pity, but Friedlander makes the character just too damn lovable. This is a great cast working with an excellent script written by amazing directors.

I challenge anyone to go out and dislike the film. Splendor handles itself so well and with such confidence that even if you don't love the film (remember, dislike is not an option) you'll have to admire the craft involved. And if you don't, well then, screw you. Go watch the disgusting adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. American Splendor is a great movie based on a really interesting guy. As Pekar says in his voiceover narration, "This is our guy". And this is his movie. And I'd say it's "splendid" but as I'm sure every other critic in the nation has used that to describe this movie, I'll just say that it's great, man. It's just frickin great.

--Matt Goldberg, WantonDistraction.com