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Blu-Ray : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
Release Date: December 18th, 2012 Movie Release Year: 2012

Sleepwalk with Me

Overview -

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.

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
BD-50 Blu-ray Disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
81
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
Spanish
Special Features:
Theatrical Trailer
Release Date:
December 18th, 2012

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

'Sleepwalk With Me' is the sleeper hit of the year. Back a few years ago, genius comedian Mike Birbiglia added a long monologue to his stand-up comedy routine called 'Sleepwalk With Me.' In it, he talks about his real-life sleeping disorder called REM Behavior Disorder where he literally acts out his dreams. Sometimes, they have serious and painful consequences. In ‘Sleepwalk With Me’, Birbiglia takes his story a bit further as he plays himself with a different name. He plays Matt Pandamiglio, a rookie stand-up comedian in New York who has been with his girlfriend Abby (Lauren Ambrose) going on almost a decade now. As his comedy career starts to take off, Matt struggles with committing to Abby. 'Sleepwalk With Me' is not only warm, inviting, and charming, but it’s one of the funniest films of the year.

I love that Birbiglia talks to us, the audience constantly. Much like John Cusack in 'High Fidelity,' Birbiglia tells us little anecdotes and reminds us that “…we are on his side” when he makes offbeat decisions. Birbiglia’s character Matt works as a bartender at a comedy club where he hopes that he will get a bit of time every night to do his act, which consists of one line jokes that don’t go over to well, but are awkwardly funny because of his demeanor and on-stage lack of confidence. His girlfriend Abby has a real job and supports her boyfriend to the fullest.

At Matt’s parents (James Rebhorn and Carol Kane) house one evening for dinner, the subject of when Abby and Matt will get married comes up and freaks Matt out. It’s not because he comes from a broken home, but as Matt tells us onscreen, that his parents have been together for 40 years and thought to himself, “I need to get me some of that.” Of course he was being sarcastic. After this dinner, Matt worms his way in the somewhat good graces of a bizarre agent who is a 70 year old woman. He then begins a cross-country trek by car on a small club tour where the most he would make in a night is $150. After a few failed attempts at the comedy circuit with his one-line jokes, he loosens up and begins to talk about his life and relationship. And he kills it.

However, with the stress of his relationship and staying up late on the road, his REM sleep disorder gets much worse. His dreams consist of being chased by jackals, having sex with women, and being the center of attention at a command center with an incoming missile targeted on him. It’s during this dream, where he tries to escape the missile by jumping out of a window, when in real life he jumps out of a 2nd story motel window, cutting his legs to ribbons. Finally, he decides that he needs help.

This film is funny beyond belief as it goes through Birbiglia’s start of his comedy career. The relationship between Matt and Abby is bittersweet, like a fine chocolate. You know it’s bad for you, but you keep wanting more of it. I know I wanted to spend more time with them. Birbiglia’s comedy and stories were featured in NPR’s ‘This American Life’, and there is even a small cameo from Ira Glass in the film. ‘Sleepwalk With Me’ and Mike Birbiglia make the perfect film. I’m still talking about it two weeks after viewing the film. I can’t wait to see more from Birbiglia. See this movie!

Video Review

Ranking:

'Sleepwalk With Me' comes with an impressive 1080p HD transfer and is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The colors are bright and vibrant with an almost dream like quality to the whole picture. The detail is very sharp as you can make out facial stubble very clearly and threads on clothing. The depth is also very good, especially in the exterior shots of the city. The flesh tones were natural and smooth with the black levels running deep and inky. I did not notice any edge enhancement, aliasing or dirt on the image. Overall this is a very solid and top notch video transfer.

Audio Review

Ranking:

This release comes with a great lossless DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix. This is a dialogue heavy film with almost no action beats, so your speakers won't get a full work out here. The dialogue is crystal clear and centered on the fronts very nicely. If someone is talking off camera, their voice is heard through the surrounds very nicely. The ambient noises of audience commotion, applause and city sounds come through the rears very well with no cracks or hissing. And the score never drowns out the sound effects nor the dialogue. This is a great audio presentation for a strict dialogue driven movie.

Special Features

Ranking:
  • Audio Commentary - Mike Birbiglia and Ira Glass provide commentary. One of the better commentaries I have ever listened to. It's very informative and very funny as Birbiglia explains the trials and tribulations of a first time filmmaker and comedian, while Glass provides some insight on the film and story. This is a must listen.
  • The Making of 'Sleepwalk With Me' (HD, 14 mins) - This is a great little featurette that showcases Birbiglia and a few other important players in the film as they discuss the transformation from Mike's standup and one-man show to this feature film. It also shows how Birbiglia got in the director's chair for the first time. This was great.
  • Q&A with Ira Glass and Mike Birbiglia (HD, 35 mins) - This is just so freaking amazing. Here we have Ira Glass and Mike Birbiglia at a Q&A, which is moderated by the great Joss Whedon. It doesn't get better than that, does it? Ira and Mike answer questions on their filmmaking experience, while they ask Joss about 'The Avengers'. This is amazing and a must watch.
  • Outtakes (HD, 4 mins) - Here are a couple of scenes that are considered outtakes, one being where a piece of the set falls and injures Birbiglia.
  • Behind the Scenes Shorts (HD, 14 mins) - Here are 5 little segments that could have been in the 'Making of' portion, but decided to be split up here. There are talking head interviews and on set footage here. Here we get a glimpse of the comedians in the film, working with children, the actual doctor for Birbiglia, and the creative process that went into making the flick. Great stuff.
  • Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2 mins) The theatrical trailer for the film.

Mike Birbiglia's 'Sleepwalk With Me' is a fantastic film full of laughs and love. His comedic timing is impeccable and all of the characters are amazing and likable. The video and audio presentations are top notch for a dialogue-driven comedy and the extras are fantastic. I highly recommend this blu-ray release (as well as seeing Birbiglia live, if he comes through your town).