Bucky R
An amazing doc about an amazing artist.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
04/29/24
Full Review
david f
This is pretty much a masterpiece as a documentary, getting at all the many motivations and inspirations of its title character, the comic artist, Robert Crumb. Lots of his work is on display here for the viewer to form their own opinion but there's also critics, boosters, and commentators galore to analyse it one way or another. I particularly loved Robert Hughes, the old Time Magazine art critic from Australia, who brings an articulate, funny, and brilliant eye to bear on the work of the artist (and his reaction when told that Crumb masturbates to his own work is priceless). I don't know what to say about the Crumb family other than to point out that this film shows them for who they are, warts and all, in a non-judgmental way that quite frankly is a model for documentary filmmaking. I may have cringed at times, and wanted the film to take a position, but on some level I'm glad it did not and I think that is part of what makes this film so great, so perfect. Crumb attributes his start to his older brother Charles, and the movie ends on a quote from Charles, and in between there is much of Charles and Robert together, showing off what is left of their dynamic together, and it's one of the keystones of the film. I remember watching this movie when it came out when I was a teenager-it made me run to Tower Records to start buying volumes of The Complete Crumb Comics. It's every bit as good now as it was then, a true American Original about a True American Original.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
William L
After watching the opening credits, I was left wondering how David Lynch would tackle a documentary of an American underground cartoonist, only to find out later that his name was tacked on in post-production and that he had very little influence over the film itself. That's kind of a letdown.
A documentary of an artist where the art itself, while certainly an influence on popular culture, is totally secondary. Zwigoff uses the work of R. Crumb, which ranges from well-regarded satire to highly controversial work that blurs the line between sincere biases and insightful commentary, as a means of tackling personal trauma. Crumb himself is not a good person, directly admitting a loathing of the opposite sex and dabbling in areas that some would find difficult to stomach. But as the film goes on, you're introduced to the context of his upbringing and how he was made into the cartoonist he became, featuring a mash-up of childhood trauma, cultural conflicts, and personal tragedies. While to the outside world he is at the most generous a particularly colorful character, in his family he is far and away the most well-adjusted individual. The contrast between these two worlds - the strange simmering cauldron where he was born and formed his personality, and the outside world that judges him through his work exclusively, is the film's clincher. (4/5)
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/20/22
Full Review
Audience Member
it is a beautiful world, mr. crumb
you're extremely talented - but all the talent that exists or has existed will never replace humanity
and nobody gives a shit because you're probably dead by now and nobody fucking cares.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It's very personal, hell I'd say intrusive, of the artist's personal life, but hey, it was made under Robert Crumb's permission.
Zwigoff's careful direction gives us no bullshit as we learn the endearing highs and disturbing lows which colour the original comic life of "Crumb".
This is a masterful example on how a documentary should protect its integrity without sacrificing entertainment quality.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I felt uncomfortable watching Crumb. I felt uncomfortable as I looked for a picture of Crumb to include in this review (his comic depicting the rape of a headless woman was ubiquitous irrespective of how I phrased my search query). Everything about Robert Crumb makes me uncomfortable. As an eccentric and a creative, I identify with him. As a female, I find him kind of frightening. On a more general note, I was disturbed by seeing the unique misery of a nightmarish childhood so well articulated in this documentary. It really made me feel something, and although those feelings were mostly negative (i.e. horror, disturbance, fear) this film really is a remarkable achievement.
So much of what was documented by Zwigoff in Crumb could not have been fabricated for the purposes of directing a fictional movie. Or at least if it were, I don't know that I could have retained my willing suspension of disbelief. I went into the film expecting to learn about Robert Crumb's creative process. Instead, I found myself gripped by a psychological deep-dive into a highly dysfunctional family.
There was so much honesty in this film – honesty about some of the greatest miseries of the human experience. And yet, much of it was related with a laugh or a chuckle. There were a number of scenes that I had to re-watch, given the easy manner in which travesties were related.
I was amused when Robert Crumb presented his comic depicting how he felt during the filming process. The caption "How perfectly goddamned delightful it all is, to be sure" is a catch-phrase coined by Robert's brother, Charles Crumb. This could be said to capture the Crumb family attitude – ironic acceptance of one's situation, given the futility of resistance.
I mentioned that I find Robert Crumb frightening because I am a female. There is a unique type of disturbance one feels at being simultaneously an object of hatred and lust. Crumb is forthcoming about what he terms his "hostility towards women". There is a remarkable scene in the documentary where his former partner is discussing the breakdown of their relationship. In response, Crumb laughingly says "do you think I'm sadistic?" and grabs her roughly by the face. I was at once shocked and intrigued. I am still reeling that, of the Crumb family, Robert Crumb is the most well-adjusted.
Despite the discomfort some of us feel about Crumb's depiction of violence and sexual deviance in his artwork, the fact that it evokes such a strong response suggests that it communicates an evocative, perhaps universal, message. Indeed, in portraying his most depraved and outrageous ideas and thoughts, Crumb is doing what all great artists must do – expressing his true nature.
I see Crumb as a meditation on what circumstances give rise to the creative impulse. The art that the brothers – Maxon, Charles and Robert – produced felt necessary and driven, not the product of a fun pastime. It is often said that art is life-giving, but this film would never let its audience be so idealistic as to believe that. As Robert Crumb says "I start feeling depressed and suicidal if I don't get to draw. But sometimes when I'm drawing, I feel suicidal too".
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
Full Review
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