BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
Like most people I’m a fan of a lot of things. The movie “Sleepwalk With Me” has more than enough of those things I’m a fan of. Mike Bibiglia takes his stand up experience and his routine and turns it into a very personal and engaging movie. We cover his life as a guy who wants to be a stand up, has a shitty job, a good girlfriend, and tons of pressure on him to become something he doesn’t want to be. He ends up getting into stand up and before you know it everything is different. I won’t get into the details. Those are the details you should experience on your own as you watch this movie. Obviously I’m recommending it. His girlfriend is played by Lauren Ambrose, one of my favorite actresses I don’t get to see enough of. She has a character that you’d normally despise in a movie like this, but Mike painted her fairly honestly. That’s what I dug most about this movie. The honesty. We get insight of why he does comedy, what he gave up for it, and how he kind of found his way. I’m not even getting into the whole “sleepwalking” part. That’s a big focus of the movie. The dude sleepwalks and it got way dangerous before it got any better. It’s funny in that bizarre “oh shit!” kind of way. You find yourself amusingly concerned for the guy. This is just something to bounce off of though. It’s something Mike uses as a metaphor for things and to relate things together. It works. It’s not a movie for people who want to sit through a laugh-a-second comedy or silly falls and action. While there are plenty of laughs and sleepwalking action, it’s more about finding one’s self and going for it. At least, that’s what I got out of it. This movie reminded me a lot of a good Woody Allen movie, but I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. It’s its own thing, but I don’t think anyone makes the comparison out of meanness. It’s just rare to find such an honest movie that tackles the evil greys of human nature. A-
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