Review of Sleeper (2012) by Robby D — 28 May 2008

I've only recently started to get into Woody Allen films. Having just watched Annie Hall, which is probably his most recognizable film, I decided to go with "Sleeper". It had been recommended to me by a lot of people and i've heard nothing but great things. However, I must say, I was fairly let down. Perhaps I should've done more research on the film before seeing it, but the relentless slapstick gags fell a bit short for me.

One day Miles Monroe, owner of a health food store, goes to a hospital for a minor surgery. Two hundred years later, he's awoken by scientists. However, little did he know - he was not awoken out of the kindness of their hearts, he was essentially an unwilling recruit from an underground society. The only thing he knows about his mission is that it's called "Project Aires", and shortly thereafter he's sent on his way. Over the course of the movie he disguises himself as a maid robot, eats giant fruit, battles corrupt police officers, etc. Really, in terms of plot, this is essentially a whole bunch of familiar stories jumbled together. The difference, however, is that the protagonist is not a handsome hero, rather it's neurotic Woody Allen.

The movie starts off very well. Some of the gags are the epitome of "trying too hard", however it's over the top to the point where you're laughing a little bit... then rolling your eyes... then as it keeps going on, the absurdity of it all makes you laugh until you cry. Really classic sketch comedy there. All of the stuff with Woody's "drunken" state after being unfrozen to him posing as a robot was all a blast to watch.

However, to me the movies downfall was... well, the plot. This would've been lots of fun if it was just a movie about Woody Allen messing around in the future, however there's this whole thing about "The Leader" that seems incredibly rushed and sucks the fun out of it all. I was having a blast watching this, however the last act was probably the worst drop off from great to horrendously bad i've ever seen. It really left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Not only was it all nonsensical and rushed, the movie also leaves you with one of the least convincing onscreen romances I think i've ever seen. When i'm not buying into DIANE KEATON AND WOODY ALLEN as being in love, there's something a bit wrong there.

That being said, this isn't really a film that anyone could hate. It's all harmless fun, and there's some clever stuff put in there. This is a lot more slapstick than I was expecting, and the intelligent script of Annie Hall is replaced with a screenplay filled more with nonsensical gags and the occasional pop culture reference. Don't get me wrong, this isn't Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell levels of stupidity, it's more along the lines of Monty Python.

I liked this, but I can't say i'd rush to recommend this to anyone I know. Perhaps it just didn't hold up well with time since this type of comedy is so overdone in 2008, but I found this to be your typical Hollywood fare with a slightly more realized and creative plot. For it's time it was revolutionary and completely innovative, but I find the slightly "smarter" comedy of a film like Annie Hall to hold up more by today's standards. It's good stuff overall, but a mess of a third act and one-liners that fell short really distanced myself from the film.