Sleepwalk with Me (2012)

A burgeoning stand-up comedian struggles with the stress of a stalled career, a stale relationship, and the wild spurts of severe sleepwalking he is desperate to ignore.

Directors:

Mike Birbiglia, Seth Barrish

Writers:

Mike Birbiglia (screenplay), Ira Glass (screenplay),

Stars:

Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, James Rebhorn

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mike Birbiglia	...	Matt Pandamiglio
Lauren Ambrose	...	Abby
James Rebhorn	...	Frank
Carol Kane	...	Linda
Cristin Milioti	...	Janet
Aya Cash	...	Hannah
Marylouise Burke	...	Aunt Lucille
Loudon Wainwright III	...	Uncle Max
Ben Levin	...	Philip
Henry Phillips	...	Henry
Jessi Klein	...	Lynn
Emily Meade	...	Samantha
Danny Borbon	...	Tommy
Amanda Perez	...	Tammy
Lucy DeVito	...	Hilary

Storyline

A burgeoning stand-up comedian struggles with the stress of a stalled career, a stale relationship, and the wild spurts of severe sleepwalking he is desperate to ignore.

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Plot Keywords:

sleepwalking | comedian | stand up comedian | written and directed by cast member | reference to the incredible hulk | 

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Taglines:

When your subconscious has to do the work for you.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 2013 (Australia)

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$322,677 (USA) (31 August 2012)

Gross:

$2,263,436 (USA) (16 November 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sleepwalkers Anonymous

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Comedian Mike Birbiglia lost 20 pounds to play the role he based on himself.

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Goofs

When Matt is working the bar and trying to speak with Abby about having a "breather," the beer bottles on the bar appear and disappear between shots.

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Quotes

Matt Pandamiglio: I really feel like our whole lives, no matter how low our self esteem gets, there's a part of us that thinks, 'I have a secret, special skill that no one knows about.' And, eventually, we meet someone who's like, "You have a secret, special skill." And you're like, "I know! So do you!" And that's love.

User Reviews

Keenly observed and refreshingly open.

As someone who has considered Mike Birbiglia to be one of my favorite people for the better part of the past decade, it's no surprise that I was greatly looking forward to his filmmaking debut as writer and director on the autobiographical Sleepwalk with Me. A re-telling of his personal experiences with sleepwalking, his genesis as a career stand-up comedian and a relationship, Sleepwalk opens up the world to a story that Birbiglia has been telling on stage for quite a few years now.

One of the most pleasant surprises about the film is that none of it really feels stale at all. As with many stand-up comedians who try their hand at working in film or television, he incorporates plenty of his stage material into the screenplay for Sleepwalk, yet I found myself laughing at the same jokes that have made me laugh hundreds of times already. There's an ease to the way that Birbiglia naturally slides his more conversational material into the actual narrative of the piece, where the jokes come smoothly as opposed to feeling like stand-up that's been reworked into a narrative formatting, which is often the case with these kind of endeavors.

Sleepwalk is a very personal journey that Birbiglia invites the audience along to, and despite being primarily a comedic work he's not afraid to bluntly open himself up to the darker shades of his life or to his own faults and mistakes. Matt Pandamiglio, the subtly named lead character played by Birbiglia here, is stubborn, lazy and often selfish and Birbgilia doesn't hide from these kind of human flaws that could turn some of the audience away from him. It's in his approach to life that I've always found myself able to admire Birbiglia most of all, and that shines through plenty in his character and in the message of the film overall.

This is a guy who has been given plenty of reason to complain or take on the kind of malicious, shock style of comedy that has become increasingly popular over the past few decades, but there's a natural affability to Birbiglia that comes through no matter what the situation. He's never one to walk around with a chip on his shoulder blaming others for his problems, but instead he just continues to roll with the punches and approach life with a sort of casual ambivalence that I've always wished I could have.

Sleepwalk with Me combines Birbgilia's knack for observational humor so seamlessly with his auto-biographical work, and as a filmmaker he has made an impressive first feature that shows promise for him to follow in the tradition of other greats who have made the crossover from stand-up to film. While the film doesn't ever hit hard enough on any level to make a significant impact that will last with me, there's a very Woody Allen-esque approach that he takes in the way he structures it that comes so easily to him. This would be impressive for any comedian to take to, but especially someone who is making his first film. Birbiglia is able to take clear influence from Allen in the storytelling while also remaining very true to himself as a comedian and as a new filmmaker, and I look forward to hopefully seeing more from him on this side of things in the near future.