MovieChat Forums > Sleepwalk with Me (2013) Discussion > Saw it and really liked it

Saw it and really liked it

posted 12 years ago by Cunnilingilator
5 replies | jump to latest

I saw this last night in LA. It was really good. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times and the story was very true and honest. Like a great stand-up act, you laugh at what you recognize is real and walk away with something to really think about. I've seen a few indie comedies this year and I would put this one right there at the top. I liked it better than Seeking a Friend For The End of The World and Safety No Guaranteed (though not by much on this one). This is an absolutely competent movie that is all the surprising when you see that the star, Mike Birbiglia, is also a first-time director here.

All -around good stuff

[–] DoobakusBoy 12 years ago

I saw this too, probably at the same theater in LA, and didn't like it. I went with a friend who's a fan of the comedian (I'd never heard of him, but remember seeing him in Girls), and my friend didn't like it either. Our thoughts seemed to be pretty much the same. It wasn't TERRIBLE, but it wasn't terribly interesting either. It was a drawn out story of a breakup that certainly wasn't remarkable enough to justify a 90 minute movie, with some parts about sleepwalking thrown in. It wasn't clear to me if they were trying to somehow draw a connection between the relationship and the sleep disorder, or if it was just there because that's what happened in real life. But again, nothing in this movie seemed important or interesting enough to merit documentation. This movie just kind of happened without much of a story and not enough humor or insight to make up for the missing narrative. I rated it a 3 out of 10.

[–] emvan 11 years ago

It wasn't clear to me if they were trying to somehow draw a connection between the relationship and the sleep disorder, or if it was just there because that's what happened in real life.

The three things this movie is about -- his comedy career, the relationship, and his sleepwalking -- are completely linked together. The stress of the faltering relationship triggers the sleep disorder (in real life, apparently it just made it worse). His comedy career takes off when he starts using material about the faltering relationship in his act. It also gives him access to other women. Meanwhile, he is procrastinating about both dealing with the relationship and the sleep disorder. Finally, being alone on the road with his career makes the sleep disorder more dangerous, leading to the incident that finally forces him to deal with it. And that in turn makes him realize that he has to end the relationship.

Umm ... that's a narrative. It was only missing in your brain, because (unlike most Hollywood movies, and like real life) these connections were not hammered home by people talking about them unrealistically. They were left for you to notice (or fail to).

Prepare your minds for a new scale of physical, scientific values, gentlemen.

[–] TheBeardedWonder 11 years ago

Yeah I hate to say 'you didn't get it', but it applies to that other poster pretty well. It was obvious what the connections were, they weren't trying to hide them. To not see them means you're either not paying attention (in which case, what you think of the movie is meaningless), or are ignoring them on purpose since you've convinced yourself you don't like the movie for whatever other reason.

Back on topic, I also enjoyed this movie! It was a fun indie comedy with a solid homespun type sensibility & some funny faces popping up. These types of movies tend to polarize people, nothing new there...

"My first name is Mister, my middle name is the period between, and my last name is T." - Mr. T

[–] DoobakusBoy 11 years ago

Yeah, I didn't get it. I don't even remember this move well enough now to offer up a proper response. I do kind of resent the implication that just because I didn't get it that my brain is somehow deficient, or that I went in with the intention of hating this movie. I didn't "convince" myself that I didn't like the movie. I just didn't like the movie. I found it boring.

Obviously, I didn't find it quite as obvious that they were implying the relationship was the cause of his sleep disorder. Maybe I was approaching this from the standpoint of a licensed physician, where, medically speaking, that seems like a convenient explanation that is probably hocum. Who knows.

I'm glad you liked it. I appreciate your defense of the narrative. Maybe next time leave it at that, and try not to portray my dislike of the movie as a sign of my own shortcomings (rather than movie's).

[–] TheBeardedWonder 11 years ago

Sorry about any implications to your intelligence, definitely wasn't the point! All I said was that you either weren't paying attention (which doesn't say anything about intelligence - you can not be paying attention for a myriad of reasons), or that you decided not to like it ahead of time, again nothing to do with smarts in my opinion.

Normally i'd agree with you about all this, but the movie hits you over the head SO HARD with its connection of themes that as I and the other poster said, you'd have to try NOT to notice them. Some movies make you discover them, this wasn't one of them.

Again I didn't mean to say anything about your intelligence, but that maybe these could be reasons you didn't see the connections. I've been there before with other movies, so I would never condescend someone like that!

"My first name is Mister, my middle name is the period between, and my last name is T." - Mr. T