Review: Sleepwalk with Me

       Mike Birbiglia is a successful stand-up comedian, though you might not know that from talking to him. He's comes across as somewhat shy and awkward, it's a wonder that he is able to get in front of an audience and spill his guts. Birbiglia's success is even more amazing once you start listening to his act. A large portion of his material comes from his sleep disorder in which he acts out his dreams while he's asleep. The most extreme manifestation of this sleep disorder happened when Mike jumped our a second story window, an event that nearly cost him his life. Since then, Mike now sleeps in a sleeping bag and wears mittens so that he cannot unzip it. Mike turned this story into a successful one man show, and then into a popular segment on Ira Glass' radio show, This American Life. Mike teamed up with Ira Glass to make a movie about his experience as a comedian with a sleep disorder and the result is Sleepwalk with Me.

       Birbiglia plays Matt Pandamiglio, a bartender with dreams of being a stand-up comic and suffers from REM behavior disorder, the same condition that Birbiglia suffers from in real life. Clearly, Matt is a fictionalized version of Mike, just as Alvy Singer is a fictionalized version of Woody Allen in Annie Hall. Matt is in an eight year relationship with his girlfriend Abby. Matt doesn't think he's ready for marriage, but when his sister gets engaged, Abby starts pressuring him to propose. This puts a strain on their relationship, a strain that it made worse when Matt starts accepting stand-up gigs all over the east coast, spending weeks at a time away from Abby. At first, Matt's stand-up isn't very good, but he eventually finds a voice telling jokes about himself and his relationship with Abby. The more popular Matt gets, the more nights he spends on the road. While on the road, Matt's sleep disorder worsens, eventually leading to his now infamous defenestration. This brush with death makes Matt reconsider his life and sort out his relationship with Abby.

       The subject matter of this film doesn't sound particularly funny, but since it's being told by a comic, Birbiglia finds ways to make it quite humorous. Not only is this film very funny, but it's also quite heartfelt and serious as Matt's personal life seems to get worse and worse. Birbiglia also does a very good job acting for his first major film, though to be fair he has been training to be this character for his whole life. The supporting cast is filled with come fun cameo appearances, most notably a poignant appearance by Marc Maron as a more experienced comic giving Matt advice. David Wain, Wyatt Cenac, Kristen Schaal, and Ira Glass also make cameos. Whether or not Birbiglia has a future in making movies is yet to be seen, but for a first attempt, Sleepwalk with Me is surprisingly successful.