Alas Harvey Pekar, we hardly knew ye.
As a tribute to Harvey, I'm starting a new type of post called "Halloween Scenes." As the oh-so-clever title may suggest, these are scenes from films that embody the Halloween-spirit even though the film itself may not be a Halloween or Horror film.
Case in point: the film American Splendor. First, if you haven't seen it and are a fan of comic books, film, writing, creativity, the American Dream, unconventional storytelling and/or underdog stories--- you NEED to see this movie. An autobiographical film of Pekar himself (played by Paul Giamatti) and his ascent as a comic writer of the book American Splendor.
The Halloween Scene in American Splendor comes right at the beginning of the film as a very young Harvey attempts to trick or treat. The scene has all the Halloween trimmings a sucker for Americana (like myself) asks for: A mom answering the door holding a tray of caramel apples, a porch full of jack o' lanterns and spiderwebs and kids wearing Ben Cooper / Collegeville plastic masked costumes of Batman, Robin and Superman. You can see a truncated version of the full scene in the trailer HERE or in the embed below.
3 comments:
What a great idea for a new post!
I haven't seen American Splendor, but I've heard good things about it. Perhaps its time I give it look see.
Cool idea! I love this film and that scene was such a great way to open the film. Such a shame about Pekar but he lived a pretty full life and left behind an incredible legacy of personal work.
Strange Kid: Thanks! And yes, do check it out. It's made all the more inspiring and touching knowing that it's a true story.
J.D.: Thanks! It's a great scene, indeed.
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