When does sleep walking stop being funny? Fighting a non-existent jackal in the middle of the night is all good fun.
Jumping through a second story window because you think there is a missile trained on your location? Welcome to the life of Matt Pandamiglio, a fledgling stand-up comedian trying to figure out his career, his relationship and his future.
Perhaps it’s little wonder that he’s struggling with sleep.
Pandamiglio is a thinly veiled alter ego for writer, director and star Mike Birbiglia who has adapted his real life experience for stage, print and now screen.
Independently financed, the film has been impressing audiences at film festivals the world over and is now available to British audiences as a download or to watch online from the official website.
My interest in Birbiglia stemmed from seeing a spark of Woody Allen in his work, so perhaps it’s fitting that Sleepwalk With Me is very much his Annie Hall.
The confessional, autobiographical tale is told in New York conversations from Manhattan sidewalks and brownstones.
This is also a love story turned on its head, full of introspection and truthful portrayals of that very particular anxiety felt by awkward, middle aged people with commitment problems.
Otherwise known, to paraphrase a line from the film, as ‘all men’.
Underneath the personal story is a fascinating look at life as a touring comic.
The strain of the job is plain to see as Pandamiglio runs himself into the ground performing the same act across the country, but the emotional cost is just as taxing as the toll he faces at the endless turnpikes.
He finds himself at his funniest when he lays himself bare on stage while riffing on his failing relationship or his own shortcomings.
Less enjoyable is the guilt this brings at the expense of his girlfriend or the blurring of the line between persona and reality.
“You should be dead”, says a doctor as he pulls a shard of glass from his leg in the aftermath of the hotel window incident.
“You should be dead,” replies a groggy Pandamiglio.
“I zinged him”, he tells us, “because I’m a comedian”.
That doomed, hopeless zing in the face of real world problems sums up the film beautifully and Birbiglia is a likeable presence throughout.
“Remember,” he tells us before describing a particularly painful moment, “you’re on my side here”.
And we are, as this is a heartfelt work that brings humour and pathos from a very serious, and very real, problem while broaching wider topics along the way.
A deft piece of writing and one of the funnier films I’ve seen this year.
Watch or download Sleepwalk With Me on demand here (http://watch.sleepwalkmovie.com)
Words: Alastair Mitchell
