I was kind of sitting on this joke for a little while waiting to use it for a Monday strip when I knew more people would read it. I hope you like it.

I’m usually not one to call attention to “The 4th Wall.” In all honesty, one of my unofficial rules when I started Theater Hopper was to never break it. I always kind of viewed it as a cheap out.

But with American Splendor being all about the dissolution between reality in entertainment (decades before reality TV or LiveJournal, I might add), the joke was too perfect to pass up.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the film. It won’t come to Des Moines until this Friday, but I plan on checking it out early. There’s a lot of good stuff out this weekend. I’m going to be busy!

I’ve received some e-mails from people in other areas of the country where American Splendor is currently playing and I’m hearing nothing but positive reviews. I’ve always been a fan of Paul Giamatti, so I’m looking forward to it.

My good friend Nick suggested renting the documentary Crumb to help flesh out the experience. Since R. Crumb was a frequent artistic collaborator to Splendor’s author, Harvey Pekar, that’s good advice. I intend to follow through sometime this week.

Did anyone else notice that Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star was number one at the box office this week? I can’t say it was an enormous victory. It only raked in $7 million.

The last number one movie to rake in that little was the Ashley Judd thriller Eye of the Beholder in January of 2000. It only did $6 million in business.

When that’s the case, how much pride can David Spade really take home after getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?