American Splendor

American Splendor (2003) starring Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis. The story of Harvey Pekar, comic-book writer and publisher, who has appeared a number of times on the Letterman talk show. The movie takes a dark turn when Pekar is diagnosed with testicular cancer, but he gets through the treatment and gets the all-clear from his doctor. The film is presented in a kind of quasi-comic book style, and is the more entertaining for it. Giamatti is good in the role of Pekar, and Davis is also very good as Pekar's girlfriend and later wife. It's a low-budget but well produced movie, and I enjoyed it. (Subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B+