Here is a well done documentary of a very strange man named Robert Crumb who rose to fame as a cartoonist. His comics are off-beat, sometimes racist and almost always degrading to women. There is no disputing any of this from even Robert Crumb himself. Crumb just claims that all this stuff is inside him and needs to come out through his pencil. I actually admire this kind of truthful approach. Filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Federico Fellini come to mind as two others who put a lot of themselves in their work, although they do it on film and not paper. Robert Crumb became popular in the 60's for his psychedelic comics of the time including ZAP comics, one of his most popular. He has two brothers, Charles and Maxon who can also draw well but have had no real success with it. It's hard to believe but seeing these two brothers makes you actually realize that Robert was the "normal" one in the family! Definitely a scary thought. Has success gone to Robert's head? The answer is no. He consistently turns down offers from Hollywood that would make him very rich. Although I admire things about him, I found him kind of a jerk from how he treated other people. One instance is when someone says they love his work and would like an autograph and Crumb wouldn't even look at him and basically just let out his usual defensive laugh. What is curious though is that his wife, son and daughter seem almost well adjusted. Interesting. This movie is an interesting look into a strange artists life which delves into his tough upbringing to see just where all his twisted ideas come from. The DVD itself comes with a commentary by Roger Ebert and other goodies. Good Stuff!
