{2jtab: Movie Review}
|
Stand-up comedian Mike Birbiglia’s Sleepwalk With Me reads more as a testimony from within the bleak halls of a go-nowhere relationship than about his marvelously dry stand-up comedy routine. Yes, he sleepwalks and jokes about suffering from an REM behavior disorder in front of audiences but, more importantly, he gets very close to Woody Allen-type theatrics with a film that is almost as emotional as it is cerebral. Almost. And that’s a pretty good starting point for a first-time filmmaker.
Sleepwalk With Me, doesn’t pretend to be impartial and favors the selfish in this relationship of convenience. Designed to be documentary-like with its confessional behavior, the film follows Birbiglia (named Matt Pandamiglio here) around the state of New York as his stand-up hobby becomes something that resembles a career and he discovers what he doesn’t want in a relationship: his girlfriend, Abby (a very underused and super talented Lauren Ambrose).
Birbiglia plays a character based on himself and his writing tends to illustrate the fault in relationships that are simply treading water. He blames both sides but we see only one side. And that would be his. He’s essentially deserted his girlfriend of 8 years and ho hums about it through in-the-car camera monologues. Of course, he decides to alienate her after agreeing to marriage and, while not taking a side might increase likeability, Birbiglia certainly risks appealing to the emotionally stalled-out.
Most of the comedic material is old. If you’ve seen Birbiglia before, you know all the jokes. While interesting to see in a movie format, his fans might be a bit disappoint as only a couple of new jokes are featured. You will probably enjoy the film more if you’re a novice to the material and never have listened to his CD. But the scope of the film is not limited to making you laugh. There’s a danger in his sleepwalking; a danger he largely ignores as he, completely in his sleep, jumps out of second-story buildings.
The life-on-the-road narrative of Birbiglia’s is comedic and expressive; it’s just not as fresh as it once was. As a movie, it’s too brief to really strike a memorable nerve. The one-man show that ran for eight months Off-Broadway and inspired a popular segment of Ira Glass' "This American Life" probably has little business being a movie and, while pretty accurate to Birbiglia’s relationship, doesn’t really serve as a ‘How to End your Relationship if Unsure’ manual unless you are a stand-up comic.
Sleepwalk with me, yes, just don’t go fallin’ in love on me.
{2jtab: Film Details}
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content and brief language
Runtime: 90 mins..
Director: Mike Birbiglia, Seth Barrish
Writer: Mike Birbiglia, Seth Barrish
Cast: Mike Birbiglia; Lauren Ambrose; Danny Borbon; Aya Cash; Teddy Cañez
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: When your subconscious has to do the work for you.
Memorable Movie Quote: "How long has this sleepwalking been going on?"
Distributor: IFC Films
Official Site: www.sleepwalkmovie.com
Release Date: August 24, 2012 (limited)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: December 18, 2012
Synopsis: "I’m going to tell you a story, and it’s true....I always have to tell people that." So asserts comedian-turned-playwright-turned-filmmaker Mike Birbiglia directly to the viewer at the outset of his autobiographically inspired, fictional feature debut. Birbiglia wears his incisive wit on his sleeve while portraying a cinematic surrogate. We are thrust into the tale of a burgeoning stand-up comedian struggling with the stress of a stalled career, a stale relationship threatening to race out of his control, and the wild spurts of severe sleepwalking he is desperate to ignore.
Based on the successful one-man show, Sleepwalk With Me engages in the kind of passionate and personal storytelling that transfigures intimate anguish into comic art. Bursting with sincerity, Mike Birbiglia's foray into the medium marks the invigorating emergence of a strong and poignant American voice, at once hilarious and heartbreaking.
{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}
|
||||||||||||||||||
Blu-ray Details:
Available on Blu-ray - December 18, 2012
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Audio: DTS-HD 5.1 master track
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A
The 1.85:1 1080p, AVC-encoded transfer looks quite nice, delivering the film's somewhat dreamy look well, hitting some highs in terms of detail (Birbiglia's increasing facial stubble reads clearly) while keeping colors and skintones consistently appropriate. There are no concerns about digital distractions, and black levels are sufficiently deep. The movie has a very natural feel to the visuals. The blu-ray captures that well with strong lines and non-bleeding blacks. This is a dialogue heavy film and the soundtrack – a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track – handles this well from the center channel while the surround channels handle the music.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- Provided by Birbiglia and Glass, the commentary is, as expected, both light and fun, highlighting their obvious friendship well. There are plenty of details about the production included in their conversation – including how much it costs to get a Backstreet Boys song in your movie – and quite hilarious to listen to.
Special Features:
This is an independent film and, usually, you would be wise to lower your expectations. Instead of being shortchanged, however, the special features are quite well-endowed with 2-hours of material (including the commentary) to wade through. The most interesting and fascinating parts of the three making of features are hearing Birbiglia, or his cast and crew, talk about the process of bringing such a personal story to life, and what it was like to be part of such a production. There's also a very long Q&A from the Writer's Guild on the disc that is moderated by Joss Whedon and features Ira Glass and Birbiglia fielding questions about the film.
- Making Of Sleepwalk With Me (14 min)
- Outtakes (4 min)
- Promotional Shorts (7 min)
- Q&A at the Writers Guild Foundation (34 min)
- Theatrical Trailer
{2jtab: Trailer}
{/2jtabs}
