A comic book antihero brought to life.

He doesn’t have a catchy name, a flashy costume or even a superpower - unless you count an unrivalled ability to grouch - but Harvey Pekar is a genuine, all-American comic book hero, and now some kind of movie star. Not exactly Batman, but not bad for a morose, finicky hospital file clerk from Cleveland.

Since 1976 Pekar’s been the star and, more impressively, the author of American Splendor, the downbeat chronicle of his own suburban life, his relationship with long-suffering wife Joyce and their equally strange friends. Featuring artwork from the likes of underground comic legends R Crumb and Joe Zabel, Pekar’s comic gradually became a cult sensation. And since winning the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Festival, American Splendor the movie has done the same, virtually overnight.

Filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s bravura adaptation taps directly into what they identified as Pekar’s outlook on life: "Sometimes mundane, sometimes poetic and always honest." They’ve smartly shuffled a potted history of Harvey’s biographical highlights, starring the wonderful Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis as the Pekars, with what could be termed a "deconstructumentary" - the real Harvey, Joyce and co popping up to add their own comments on unfolding events.

It’s daring, experimental filmmaking treading the fine line between indie gimmickry - witness the brilliant use of animated comic panels to re-imagine Pekar’s world - and a very moving story of an unconventional family who survive their own neuroses and a bout of cancer to reach some kind of happy ending. Though Pekar’s ostensibly the guy who’s glass isn’t merely half-empty but half-cracked and holding a bitter-tasting draft, the film clearly illustrates the desperate, deadpan humour and especially the vital humanity behind the serial whingeing. "Ordinary life is pretty complex," runs Pekar’s mantra. And in the hands of all these gifted artists, pretty extraordinary too. Leigh Singer 02 January 04

American Splendor, on selected release 02 January 04.

useful link: www.americansplendormovie.com