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A comically depressing film adaptation by co-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, “American Splendor” trudges through the seemingly insignificant and overlooked existence of Harvey Pekar, a workaday file clerk occasionally doubling as a minor-league jazz critic. The movie follows Harvey on his journey as an everyday joe struggling to make a name for himself and leave his all-important mark on the world. “The Harvey Pekar Name Story”, which is inserted verbatim in the movie’s doleful conclusion, is a small piece of the cult comic anthology. Both the comic and the film share a central theme that outrageous self-absorption and unrelenting, nonetheless wavering, determination can be a formula for success, no matter how hopeless one’s circumstances may seem. The film is first set in the 19