Right off the bat you know you are in for something special when one of the opening title cards reads "David Lynch Presents". I went into this film with no frame of reference. I am not even a mainstream comic book fan, better yet a "underground" comic book kind of guy. The movie shows Crumb as the guest speaker at a school early on. What a great way to introduce a character and his back story. Crumb is the artist behind the "Keep on Truckin" animation that was popular in the late 60's. He also did Felix the Cat. Which I have never read, but know a little about, and a few other things that has crossed over into more mainstream media.
From the first time we see Crumb and hear him talk it is clear that he is not status quot. He dresses in Coke bottle glasses, bow ties and pork pie hats. He has a collection of bizarre erotic figurines in his study. Many based on his own characters. He has a lady friend, but she seems a little off too.
We are quickly introduced to his brothers and mother. Charles is a shut in living with his mother in a quickly dilapidating house in Philly. Charles speaks of his emotional issues both social and personal. He talks about being on a steady diet of pills to help control his emotions and keep him steady. Other than some uncomfortable physical ticks, Charles seems intelligent and well spoken. I found it disturbing that I was so easily able to relate to a lot of what Charles had to speak about society and relationships.
Crumbs other brother, Max was a totally different type of messed up. He appeared as a burnt out hippie that has never came down from a major overdose of LSD. He sits on a homemade bed of nails for hours a day eating a rope that he uses to cleanse his intestines or something like that. Where as Charles is well spoken and introverted, Max makes no sense much of the time and he is commonly out on the street. Zwigoff makes it a point to show the horribly stained bottoms of his feet to show that he too lives in swaller.
So both of these brothers have there own idiosyncrasies to say the least. But Crumb could have them beat hands down. His drawings are a window into his psyche, and it is a stained glass window for sure. He talks about as a child humping a cowboy boot while singing "Jesus Loves Me". He talks about masturbating 4-5 times a day and often to his own comics. We meet some of the women he has been with and for the most part they all have terrible things to say about him. He readily admits to hating women, yet we see him be as charming and respectful as a guy can be to them. Then at the same time we see a cartoon of his where a man cuts a woman's head off and gives her to a buddy so he can have sex with here without having to listen to her complain. He tries to explain that he takes his frustrations out on the page so he doesn't have to in real life.
This movie reminded me a fair amount to another great doc, Grey Gardens. The Beal's in that movie could give the Crumbs a run for their money in this movie for most eccentric family. Where the Beals have been "crazy" for a while, it was money and mental disorders that led them to their state of disillusionment. Unfortunately it was lack of money and abuse that led to the disintegration of their family. Their father was an abusive task master that wanted three boy nerds to grow up marines instead of drawing all day. Their mother is a pill popping, bi-polar, neurotic monster.
I like this movie because I never once felt manipulated pandered too. The director let the story play out very naturally. That might be another reason that it reminded me so much of Grey Gardens. I give Crumb ★★★★.
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