I love little independent releases as much as anyone I know. So, you can imagine my delight when I found out that one of my local theaters (the lovely and charming Kentucky Theatre) was one of the only 75 theaters in the country that would be getting comedian/monologist Mike Birbiglia's SLEEPWALK WITH ME. And as I sat down, realizing that the film was being played using a Blu-ray disc and a Playstation 3 (which I applaud the Theatre's expert use of, including playing trailers), I knew this film was going to really fit that bill. And it did, though not to perfection.
The latest adaptation of Birbiglia's real-life experiences (after an off-Broadway show, memoir, and episode of THIS AMERICAN LIFE), SLEEPWALK WITH ME tells the story of thinly-veiled Birbiglia avatar, Matt Pandamiglio (see?) as he tends a New York City bar and occasionally works on his fledgling comic career, spinning his wheels and having no idea where his life is going. He has parents (Carol Kane, James Rebhorn), who are relatively understanding but still concerned with their son's ambivalence and lack of career momentum, a sister (Cristin Milioti) who is getting married and has her life together, though still makes time to listen to Matt's problems, and a girlfriend. Played by the beautiful and incredibly charming Lauren Ambrose, Abby is pretty much the perfect girlfriend. She's attractive, funny, talented (she's a former band frontwoman and now successful vocal coach), and most of all she's understanding. She and Matt have been together for 8 years, and is only now starting to hint at her want for marriage and children. Seemingly out of nowhere, Matt finds himself an agent and starts performing out of town gigs. Initially his standup is failing, until finally a conversation with another comedian (Marc Maron) convinces him to start putting his own life into his standup (most notably about his relationship with Abby and his sleepwalking). As his standup career begins to take off, his relationship begins to deteriorate and Matt begins to discover who he truly is.
Similar to Woody Allen's ANNIE HALL, a lot of the film is spent with Pandamiglio talking to the camera about (SPOILERS) the one that got away. Perhaps not surprising to anyone who's seen (and especially those who like) Birbiglia's standup, these moments along with when he's actually on stage are when the film is most enjoyable. Birbiglia is, in my opinion, a fantastic comedian. What he isn't, is a fantastic actor. And when the film begins to move into more classic cinema mode, it really comes out just how much Birbiglia isn't a leading man. In the moments when he's not on stage, everything he does makes him feel very stilted and awkward. And not stilted and awkward like his character might be in the actual film, but stilted and awkward like an actor who really doesn't know how to act with other actors performing with him.
For someone who really loves standup comedy, I found that the jokes and Birbiglia/Pandamiglio's standup in the film were enough to allow me to enjoy the film. That being said, besides ANNIE HALL, one other property that the film draws comparisons to is LOUIE, Louis C.K.'s groundbreaking TV show also about the everyday neuroses of a working comedian. And while it's not fair to compare Birbiglia to Louis C.K., it's hard not to see how much more effort C.K. puts into the acting and filmmaking portions of his art. On the whole, though really funny, the things attempted by SLEEPWALK WITH ME have all been done, and at a much high level on LOUIE.
And that's kind of what really bummed me out about the entire movie. Though it was this really independent release, if you replaced Birbiglia with a big name, Seth Rogen type and changed nothing else, I feel like you would have a standard Judd Apatow comedy. I get excited by independent films because they usually try to bring something really fresh and interesting to the table. And while Birbiglia's standup is hilarious and I laughed a ton throughout, there just isn't really anything terribly new and exciting here. Except the idea of pizza-flavored ice cream. I really gotta get me some of that.
P.S. Really, though. Even though this movie isn't amazing, you should go out and support it and awesome places, like the Kentucky Theatre, that actually get these small indie joints for crazy film nerds like me that desperately want to see them.
