The Short Weekend Begins with Longing...

Harvey Pekar walks the streets of Cleveland in American Splendor

No one was waiting on me today. So, time to wander, and wander I did. I was going to pass the time by doing what I do best, drinking and smoking. I couldn't get a table at the Lennox so I decided to browse movies across Robson St. at Future Shop. It was there that I stumbled upon the movie American Splendor. I had heard about it when it was first released, but knew nothing of the comic book that shared the same name. I paid the cashier, checked the Lennox for a table again, still no room, and was on my way. To where I did not know. So I just started walking through the Pacific Centre mall. I looked at some clothes at Holt Renfrew that were so ridiculously exspensive it was truely cruel. I didn't think clothes like that even existed, only in a magazine as they say. Oh their out there allright, but only for the select few that can afford it. Time to go somewhere that fits my limited budget.

Arby's. Yeah, pretty sad. I sat there with my 2 beef and chedder sandwiches for 5 bucks, eyeing the other shoppers with the sound of a large waterfall in the background. I finally gave in, this killing time was killing me. So I grabbed the train home to my emptied apartment and took up my usual position in bed with my laptop. Roll movie.

I knew I was headed for trouble when the opening scene featured a down and out soul pacing the city streets, complaining about his life. I was tempted to shut the bloody thing off when Harvey, the main character and subject of American Splendor, comes home one afternoon to his wife moving out. This is a great end to a lousy evening I thought. Morbidly interested though I kept watching.

Unfortunately I think I have a lot in common with Harvey Pekar. The sequence of him walking the streets, going home, lying in bed, reading books to kill time while a narrative explained just how awfully lonely he was at this period in his life struck just a little too close to home. I thought of the weekends I have been living as of late. Full of people I don't know that well and too many drinks, but empty all the same. Am I Harvey Pekar? Is Low's just another version of American Splendor online, sans illustration? The casting in this film was amazing, they intertwine footage of the actors with interviews of the real people, and mix that up with images and animations from the comic book. A very unique viewing experience. I had a real affection for the wife of Harvey, his third, Joyce. The way the two met in real life and in the film mirrored my own experience. Her devotion to Harvey was intoxicating, and she was kind of cute. I knew someone like her once, so long ago it seems now.

I don't know how comfortable I am comparing myself to an angry, obsessive compulsive loner. But I think back to my time in the mall, just a few short hours ago, and the similarities are quite terrifying. The weekend is upon us again, and I know mine, except for the 4 or 5 hours in which I can attend a party here or there, will be spent alone. I will lie in bed, I will pace the streets, I will think of how screwed up my life has become, I will wish for splendor.