40 min
TMR 001 - American Splendor Total Movie Recall
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- TV & Film
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Total Movie Recall, where we’ll discuss the film American Splendor directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini & starring Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, Harvey Pekar – based on the comic book of the same name.
Harvey Pekar is file clerk at the local VA hospital. His interactions with his co-workers offer some relief from the monotony, and their discussions encompass everything from music to the decline of American culture to new flavors of jellybeans and life itself. At home, Harvey fills his days with reading, writing and listening to jazz. His apartment is filled with thousands of books and LPs, and he regularly scours Cleveland’s thrift stores and garage sales for more, savoring the rare joy of a 25-cent find. It is at one of these junk sales that Harvey meets Robert Crumb, a greeting card artist and music enthusiast. When, years later, Crumb finds international success for his underground comics, the idea that comic books can be a valid art form for adults inspires Harvey to write his own brand of comic book. An admirer of naturalist writers like Theodore Dreiser, Harvey makes his American Splendor a truthful, unsentimental record of his working-class life, a warts-and-all self portrait. First published in 1976, the comic earns Harvey cult fame throughout the 1980s and eventually leads him to the sardonic Joyce Barber, a partner in a Delaware comic book store who end ups being Harvey’s true soul mate as they experience the bizarre byproducts of Harvey’s cult celebrity stature. – synopsis written by Sujit R. Varma via IMDB
Things we talked about in the show:
Ghost Spy
Watched this week: 8 Mile, The Castle
Ren & Stimpy
James Urbaniak
Cleveland PR board
Lofts for hipsters
American Splendor (the comic)
Gourmet Jellybeans
Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
American Splendor (the play)
Pekar’s Letterman tirade
The Graduate
Robert Crumb
Yuppies and Portlandia with Jello Biafra
Buy Steve’s band SEX BBQ’s new album HERE
Revenge of the Nerds
Toby on Mtv
Havey Pekar’s death
“The theme of ‘American Splendor’ is about staying alive. Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It’s one thing after another. I’ve tried to control a chaotic universe. And it’s a losing battle. But I can’t let go. I’ve tried, but I can’t.” -Harvey Pekar
Next week: Predator
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Total Movie Recall, where we’ll discuss the film American Splendor directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini & starring Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, Harvey Pekar – based on the comic book of the same name.
Harvey Pekar is file clerk at the local VA hospital. His interactions with his co-workers offer some relief from the monotony, and their discussions encompass everything from music to the decline of American culture to new flavors of jellybeans and life itself. At home, Harvey fills his days with reading, writing and listening to jazz. His apartment is filled with thousands of books and LPs, and he regularly scours Cleveland’s thrift stores and garage sales for more, savoring the rare joy of a 25-cent find. It is at one of these junk sales that Harvey meets Robert Crumb, a greeting card artist and music enthusiast. When, years later, Crumb finds international success for his underground comics, the idea that comic books can be a valid art form for adults inspires Harvey to write his own brand of comic book. An admirer of naturalist writers like Theodore Dreiser, Harvey makes his American Splendor a truthful, unsentimental record of his working-class life, a warts-and-all self portrait. First published in 1976, the comic earns Harvey cult fame throughout the 1980s and eventually leads him to the sardonic Joyce Barber, a partner in a Delaware comic book store who end ups being Harvey’s true soul mate as they experience the bizarre byproducts of Harvey’s cult celebrity stature. – synopsis written by Sujit R. Varma via IMDB
Things we talked about in the show:
Ghost Spy
Watched this week: 8 Mile, The Castle
Ren & Stimpy
James Urbaniak
Cleveland PR board
Lofts for hipsters
American Splendor (the comic)
Gourmet Jellybeans
Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
American Splendor (the play)
Pekar’s Letterman tirade
The Graduate
Robert Crumb
Yuppies and Portlandia with Jello Biafra
Buy Steve’s band SEX BBQ’s new album HERE
Revenge of the Nerds
Toby on Mtv
Havey Pekar’s death
“The theme of ‘American Splendor’ is about staying alive. Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It’s one thing after another. I’ve tried to control a chaotic universe. And it’s a losing battle. But I can’t let go. I’ve tried, but I can’t.” -Harvey Pekar
Next week: Predator
40 min