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Published: Sept. 20, 2015, 10:55 p.m.

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Welcome to the inaugural episode of\\xa0Total Movie Recall, where we\\u2019ll discuss the film American Splendor directed by\\xa0Shari Springer Berman,\\xa0Robert Pulcini & starring\\xa0Paul Giamatti,\\xa0Shari Springer Berman,\\xa0Harvey Pekar \\u2013 based on the comic book of the same name.

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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\\u2019s 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\\u2019s true soul mate as they experience the bizarre byproducts of Harvey\\u2019s cult celebrity stature.\\xa0\\u2013 synopsis written by Sujit R. Varma via IMDB

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Things we talked about in the show:

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Ghost Spy

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Watched this week:\\xa08 Mile,\\xa0The Castle

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Ren & Stimpy

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James Urbaniak

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Cleveland PR board

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Lofts for hipsters

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American Splendor (the comic)

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Gourmet Jellybeans

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Terry Gilliam\\u2019s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

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American Splendor (the play)

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Pekar\\u2019s Letterman tirade

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The Graduate

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Robert Crumb

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Yuppies and Portlandia with Jello Biafra

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Buy Steve\\u2019s band\\xa0SEX BBQ\\u2019s new album\\xa0HERE

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Revenge of the Nerds

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Toby on Mtv

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Havey Pekar\\u2019s death

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\\u201cThe theme of \\u2018American Splendor\\u2019 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\\u2019s one thing after another. I\\u2019ve tried to control a chaotic universe. And it\\u2019s a losing battle. But I can\\u2019t let go. I\\u2019ve tried, but I can\\u2019t.\\u201d -Harvey Pekar

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Next week: Predator

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