Review of Sleepwalk with Me (2012) by Dylan D — 16 Mar 2013

Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk with Me was on my long list of movies to see from last year. Birbiglia is one of the funniest comedians working today, so I don't know why I waited so long to see it, but it's no surprise that it was fantastic. You might expect a film based on the life of a comedian to be a little on the uneventful side, but Birbiglia's REM sleep behavior disorder remedies that. And while it's funny to watch, it's a very serious and dangerous disorder; if you don't come to that conclusion yourself, the film comes to it for you and slaps you in the face with it.

Sleepwalk with Me is about a man diving headfirst into his career as a way to avoid the mounting problems with his life, and at a very brisk eighty minutes, it manages to accomplish a lot. There are a few fun cameos, plenty of big laughs, and the performances are great. Lauren Ambrose and James Rebhorn are wonderful as usual and Birbiglia himself really brings it. There's a reason that Sleepwalk with Me made such a splash last year; it's terrific.