‘Dickie Roberts,’ another comedic flop

VAN NOVACK

David Spade is another one of those “Saturday Night Live” alums that

just won’t go away. Hanging around the fringe of true stardom, these

B-list celebrities somehow remain working due to their association

with popular television shows or their more successful friends.

In Spade’s case, as with Rob Schneider, Adam Sandler’s production

company Happy Madison perpetuates his career. Happy Madison

productions can range from the crude to the completely unwatchable.

Previous Happy Madison productions include “Deuce Bigalow,” “The Hot

Chick”, Dana Carvey’s unfortunate resurrection “The Master of

Disguise,” and Spade’s last attempt “Joe Dirt.”

Spade has starred in several box office failures and counts 1995’s

“Tommy Boy” as his most successful film to date. Of course at that

time he was still a “Saturday Night Live” regular and was playing

second banana to the more popular Chris Farley. Now comes “Dickie

Roberts: Former Child Star,” seemingly made to order for Spade who

stars in the title role and is listed as one of the writers.

As the title implies, Dickie is a former child star who enjoyed

wild popularity in the ‘70s television show “The Glimmer Gang.” As a

star Dickie felt loved, but when the show was canceled he lost

everything including his mother. Trying ever since to stage a

comeback, Dickie pulls every string imaginable to get an audition for

a new Rob Reiner movie.

When he finally gets to meet Reiner, he is told he can’t possibly

play the “average Joe” type part because he isn’t a “real” person.

Seeing the Reiner movie as his last chance to regain stardom, Dickie

decides to hire a family to provide the childhood experiences he

missed. After reviewing a few ridiculously unsuitable families,

Dickie moves in with a car salesman (Craig Bierko), his wife (Mary

McCormack) and their two kids.

“Dickie Roberts” starts with a concept that has real potential for

an engaging dark comedy. Instead, Spade and co-writer Sam Weisman

have fashioned an ultimately unsatisfying film that mixes mean

spiritedness and cloying sentiment. Basically, Dickie just isn’t a

nice guy and Spade doesn’t have the charisma to carry a film.

“Dickie Roberts” has its moments and produces a few chuckles. Mary

McCormack plays a modern version of the perfect 1950s housewife and

the kids are cute. The cast is peppered with actual former child

stars and seeing them in middle age is a bit jolting in many cases.

“Dickie Roberts” was released during what is traditionally the

slowest box office weekend of the year. As a result, it is the

highest grossing movie this week against a very weak field. In a few

short weeks “Dickie Roberts” will be buried by stronger competition

and be available as a rental. I suggest you wait until then If you’re

going to see this film at all.

* VAN NOVACK, 50, is the director of institutional research at Cal

State Long Beach and lives in Huntington Beach with his wife

Elizabeth.

Forget Hollywood, this is real life

From the streets of Cleveland, Ohio it’s “American Splendor.” This

isn’t a movie about pretty people in designer jeans who walk around

being impossibly cute. It’s about the everyday drudgery of a guy

working a dead-end job and watching life pass him by. The story is

based on the critically acclaimed autobiographical comic books by

Harvey Pekar. “American Splendor” is honest, full of heart and

totally entertaining. Real life may be ordinary, but it’s more

interesting than the fake sentimentality you see in typical Hollywood

dramas. As Pekar says, “Ordinary life is complex stuff.”

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, comic books evolved beyond super

heroes. Titles like “Maus” showed that the comic book format could be

used as a way to create serious literature. The “American Splendor”

comic books featured autobiographical stories written by Pekar and

illustrated by cutting-edge artists including Robert Crumb. Pekar

became an icon in underground culture. He made a number of

appearances as a guest on David Letterman’s talk show and these are

chronicled in the movie.

“American Splendor” the movie is about the events in Pekar’s life

that drew him to creating his autobiographical comic books, and the

life he has led since he started writing them. We learn that Pekar’s

poor dishwashing skills are his Achilles heal and what strategies he

uses to avoid slow check-out lines in the grocery store. We go with

him to his job as a file clerk at the VA hospital and are in his home

when he glues together his winter coat. It’s not glamorous and

nothing is sugar coated. For ordinary guys, surviving the rigors of

day-to-day living is hard work. Eventually Pekar meets his match when

he receives a letter from a woman whom he’ll later marry. Joyce

Brabner has no problems with moving from Delaware to Ohio. She finds

cities everywhere to be equally depressing.

The story is told by intertwining dramatic scenes using actors

with illustrations from the “American Splendor” comic books and

footage of the characters in real life. Pekar is played by Paul

Giamanti, but Pekar narrates the movie and appears in the movie as

himself. Brabner is played by Hope Davis. Judah Friedlander plays his

best friend Toby Radloff. The real Joyce and the real Toby also

appear in the movie as themselves. Directors Shari Springer Berman

and Robert Pulcini deserve a lot of credit for the way they

seamlessly weave everything together to create a story full of humor,

drama and poignant reality.

One of the things that makes the movie especially fun is the

inclusion of “American Splendor” comic book illustrations as a story

telling device. The caricatures aren’t usually flattering, but they

always feel honest and true. A few panels of Brabner’s facial

expressions when she’s upset with Pekar tell you more about her rage

than any actor could hope to achieve. The panels from the comic book

also allow the movie to proceed at a face pace without leaving out

any critical information. They help the story take shortcuts without

leaving you feeling cheated.

Giamanti is spectacular as Pekar. He captures Pekar’s

sophisticated grime and delivers a performance that’s worthy of Oscar

buzz. The surrounding cast including Friedlander, Davis and Earl

Billings (Mr. Boats) are all first rate. Watch for “Saturday Night

Live’s” Molly Shannon playing an actress who plays Brabner in a stage

version of “American Splendor” that had a brief run in L.A.

If commercials for Fox’s television series “The OC” make you want

to toss your cookies, then “American Splendor” is a movie you have to

see. None of these characters look like they belong in Gap ads. This

is true life with its cloudy days and wrinkled shirts. The movie is

gaining momentum and may leap out of the art house circuit into

mainstream theaters, but you won’t want to chance missing it. Go see

this one right away.

* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.