879. CRUMB (1994)

Running Time: 119 minutes

Directed By: Terry Zwigoff

Main Cast: Robert Crumb, Charles Crumb, Aline Kaminsky, Maxon Crumb, Robert Hughes

Click here to view the trailer

"...WHEN I WAS ABOUT FIVE OR SIX, I WAS SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO BUGS BUNNY..."

As I sat down to watch a movie last night, the only thoughts in my head were, "Please God, let this be something good. I NEED something good!". Following the watching and reviewing of "Satantango", "Crumb" was just what the doctor ordered!

For the unaware, "Crumb" is a documentary feature about the life and rise to fame of underground, controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb, better known to his fans as R. Crumb and to the public as the creator of Fritz the Cat. Not only does the film chronicle the life of Robert, but also climbs a little higher on his family tree and shows the lifestyles of his brothers, Charles and Maxon. Charles Crumb, a suicidal, recluse who lives with his mother, confining himself to a book filled room, is constantly doped up on anti-depressants. Robert's other brother, Maxon (or Max) lives at a hotel and also clearly has depression and anxiety issues. We learn that the troubling adulthood of the three boys could have been caused by an overbearing, tyrant of a father who physically punished the boys on a regular basis. In addition to the family lifestyles, we also get a heaping helping of Robert's career, getting to see hundreds of his drawings, many of which he shows off personally and describes the motivation behind them. In the 60s and 70s, Crumb became controversial for his less than flattering portrayal of women and his elevated sexual overtones. Robert also discusses his sexual interests and how those interests have sculpted and sometimes defined his drawings.

Charles Crumb

Man, it's just so hard to write about a documentary. It has been a while since I've reviewed one (perhaps the Michael Moore ones?) and I kind of forget how to do it, to be honest with you. Documentary pictures are odd in that you either take to the subject matter or you don't, meaning you pretty much either love it or hate it. Growing up and still today, my brother was a self professed comic book nerd, so I'd actually heard the name Robert Crumb mentioned a few times (not that my brother read any of Crumb's stuff - strictly superheroes for him). Also, gracing my DVD shelf is a copy of "American Splendor", a biopic starring Paul Giamatti, about the life of Harvey Pekar, who wrote the comic book of the same name, which was sometimes drawn by Crumb. With all that being said, I took to the subject matter and loved what I saw. Not only was it a straight up documentary about one man's rise to fame and his refusal to sell out, but also a portrait of his childhood, what sculpted his eccentric personality and the troubled lives of his two brothers. You don't have to have an interest in comic books to come out of this film with a positive critique. All you have to have is an interest in people and their - what can be sometimes considered weird - behavior.

RATING: 8/10  Okay, so that wasn't really a review, so much as me blabbing for a couple of paragraphs and letting my rating speak for itself. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. We'll get 'em next time!

MOVIES WATCHED: 740
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 261

October 10, 2013  2:16pm