Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Harvey & Gary
You know that feeling you get when watching a movie at home that you suddenly realize you should have seen it at the theater? That sickly feeling rises up from the pit of your stomach and screams, "Jackass!" It's kind of like being the last fish out of the pond. Sure the air is sweet, but all your friends are amphibians now while you're just a lungfish.
That's how I feel about American Splendor. I could have seen it nine months ago, but no, I wait to see it on DVD. Normally this is not an issue, I've seen plenty of decent films for the first time at home and have been fine. But movies as brilliant as American Splendor show up so rarely that failing to see it at the theater is completely unacceptable. This is the kind of film you see about five or six times down at the Cineplex. The kind of movie you make your friends come with you, at gunpoint if necessary. Yet there I was last night watching it in my living room for the first time. What a maroon.
In all seriousness, if you haven't seen this film, put down whatever you're doing and go rent it. Now. Leave work if you have to. And check out Harvey Pekar's official site, while you're at it.
The Far Side is one of my favorite comic strips of all time. (Part of the Holy Trinity of Comics along with Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County) When I heard they were coming out with the definitive collection, I was pretty stoked. The retail price of hundred-some-odd bucks for the set sounded reasonable to me, if that makes me a nerd, so be it. My nerdiness is not he problem here. The ones you need to worry about are the super-nerds, as anyone willing to shell out $795.00 for the limited edition collection surely must be. Gay marriage won't destroy society, but 2000 super-nerds running loose just might. Lock up your sons and arm your daughters, one of these super-nerds could be living in your neighborhood. If they are willing to pay eight hundred bucks for a frigging comic book, there's no telling what else they are capable of. Don't say I didn't warn you. You may now go back to your regularly scheduled deprogramming.
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