Sleepwalk With Me [Blu-ray]

Excellent film full of bittersweet comedy
I've seen Mike Birbiglia in a few stand up broadcasts, but really knew nothing about him, except that I liked his laconic, stutter-step approach to delivering his material. He seemed like a funny guy who also happened to be sorta nice too. I knew nothing about his book, Ira Glass appearances or one-man off-Broadway show. That's probably a good thing, because I was able to enjoy SLEEPWALK WITH ME pretty much on its own terms.

Apparently this movie is quite autobiographical, even though Mike has changed his character's name to Matt. But Mike/Matt frequently talks directly to the camera, and we're assured the story is true...so it's almost impossible not to assume that we're basically seeing a (perhaps exaggerated) take on Birbiglia's life. But it doesn't really matter either...the story is compelling and says some interesting things about relationships and about how a stand-up comic builds their career literally from the ground up.

Matt is in an 8-year...

Bitter-sweet and funny at the same time
"Sleepwalk With Me" (2012 US release; 90 min.) brings the story of Matt (played by Mike Birbiglia) as he struggles with a sleep disorder and tries to salvage his long-time relationship with Abby (played by Lauren Ambrose). Abby wants to get married, badly. Matt, not so much. Abby is looking for any sign from Matt that he will propose, which he eventually does, after an emotional side trip that makes him feel guilty and ashamed. Parallel to all of this, we see Matt getting his start on the stand-up comedy circuit, and barely hnaging on. Then, one day, he makes a funny quip about his failing relationship with Abby, and wouldn't you know, the audience eats it up! I don't want to give more away, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Several comments: first and foremost, even though he plays a character called "Matt", this story is based on Mike Birbiglia's own life experiences (in fact, before this became a movie, this was an unexpected off-Broadway hit...

Sleepwalk With Me.
A funny comedy about a man with a serious medical problem while we get observe his life. It's something to watch before considering marriage.

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