I found this to be a very interesting, very sad, and very revealing look at a dysfunctional genius. Crumb's work is generally intriguing (if not always likeable) so I decided to watch this documentary. Crumb is to the world as his family is to him. Crumb is by no means what many people would consider normal, but it was only through his art that he found his salvation. While his personality has tons of odd quirks both troublesome and entertaining, his family demonstrates how far he had to go to escape. Both of his brothers were talented artists as well, and the differences between them and Crumb are telling. It's also interesting as a true look at mental illness, not the candy-coated or nightmarish visions typically put forth by the media, but mental illness as experienced by everyday people. This movie isn't terribly exciting, and no one character is enormously sympathetic, but it's an extremely interesting look at the madness that consumed a family and how it shaped the brilliance of the one who managed, almost imperceivably, to escape.
Review of Crumb
