Sleepwalk with Me
Plot: Matt Pandamiglio (Mike Birbiglia) is a struggling comedian going through a drought in his relationship with Abby (Lauren Ambrose). She wants to get married, but he has fears. This, along with his stress on his career and pressure from his folks, trigger a sleepwalking disorder that slowly becomes dangerous for himself and those around him.
Review: We have these illusions of grandeur that could actually be met if we were willing to put in the time to achieve them. The problem is most of us don’t want to suffer through the lows to get to the highs. We see these famous celebrities prancing around on our screens and figure they simply walked into the career they have. We never take into consideration how many years of struggling they went through to reach their current state. We opt to either idolize them or become envious of their, in our minds, easy wealth.
Mike Birbiglia’s directorial debut (which he co-directs with Seth Barrish) takes a semi-autobiographical look at his stand-up comedy career. He focuses on a specific time in his life, the crossroad. We begin as he struggles as a bartender while questioning his future with his girlfriend, Abby. His parents, mainly his father, harp on his lack of drive. What we see isn’t the grandeur of a famous comedian that we dreamed up.
Speaking of dreaming, Matt is suffering from severe sleepwalking. He has a disorder known as RBD (Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder), which causes him to act out his dreams. This leads to a life threatening scenario where he jumps out of a hotel window. As the doctor informs him, had a shard of glass been lodged a few inches further, he would’ve bled to death. Up until this point, Matt doesn’t want to acknowledge his sleepwalking and brushes it off as a phase. It’s clear to the viewer (and possibly those around him) that his stress is triggering it (more so than usual).
It’s not up until this point that his comedy career starts to pick up. All of his gigs up to that point had been disastrous affairs. He become the comedian who took bullets for the others; his lackluster performance would make their’s look fantastic in comparison. It’s not until he starts introducing his sleepwalking and personal issues with Abby and his folks that his career starts to skyrocket. He gets more gigs and a helluva lot more laughs! It’s at this point we stop seeing the rough side of being a comedian.
Well, sort of. As Matt’s career soars and, as we see through Birbiglia’s breaking of the fourth wall (which can be distracting at times), he eventually finds comfort, he struggles with his newfound success. The long road trips and strain it put on his already dire relationship begin to take their toll on him. Not to mention the harmful sleepwalking. We may slowly begin to see the uplifting part of the story, but see the sacrifices that need to be made in order to obtain it.
While I make it sound like “Sleepwalk with Me” is a heavy dissection of the struggling comedian, it’s more a character study on one man. He just so happens to be a comedian, one who becomes successful. Hence why the film gives off this inspiring, albeit tragic at times, tone. Birbiglia is somewhat adapting his joke of this true story into a fable, so it jumps around a bit. This works for the film’s pacing, but doesn’t give an in-depth look at the struggles mentioned. Since this isn’t the main intention, it’s forgivable. Especially considering what we get is a tour of an extremely likable and relatable comedian in Mike Birbiglia! Oh, I mean Matt Pandamiglio.
Final Rating: B+
Alter Egos
Plot: Fridge (Kris Lemche) has picked the worse time to fall in love. The apple of his eye is Claudel (Brooke Nevin), a hotel clerk who has fallen in love with his actual persona, not his alter ego. Just as he thinks he’s finally going to settle down and be happy, his partner, C-Thru (Joey Kern), informs him his parents’ killer, Shrink (John Ventimiglia) is in their custody. If that wasn’t bad enough, he learns of an undercover cover-up to gain more government funding for superheroes that will alter his life permanently.
Review: With the overabundance of superhero films (specifically comedic “satires” of them) being produced nowadays, I feared “Alter Egos” was going to be nothing more than a cheap cash in. Having comic book aficionado Kevin Smith backing the film should have eased my worries, but knowing the last film he helped promote (“Bindlestiffs”) was a debacle, I wasn’t sold. Being a fan of comic book movies, I felt I still needed to give this film a chance.
I’m glad that I did! “Alter Egos” is a cleverly written and directed superhero satire of sorts from Jordan Galland! While other films took the approach of average joes becoming crime fighters, this one examines those born with superpowers and how they operate. Galland takes sly political jabs by having them be in a government funded organization, which leads to some clever gags and the opportunity to give the community a reason to want to outlaw superheroes. Would you want to fund superheroes who seemingly use their government funding to bask in the riches of the high class? Think about it.
It also opens the door for those born with limited powers to share their disdain with being turned down by the group. Jimmy (Danny Masterson) had to become a cop as his power wasn’t good enough. He can turn invisible… for 2.3 seconds. He also cheated on his wife with Claudel, which she regrets, and he’s making violent passes on her. This gives all of the characters involved a full circle to wrap around and Fridge and Claudel another reason to fall in love.
Not all of these subplots can get padded out due to the film’s paltry runtime of seventy-seven minutes. Another fifteen minutes to devote to further developing the characters and story would have certainly helped the flow. The ending seems rushed with the reveal coming across as forced. While I’m always for eighty minute films (they can be easier to digest), some need more time. “Alter Egos” needed just that!
While “Alter Egos” does become a bit of a jumbled mess, Galland does his best to maintain the film’s adroit humor and humanity. He’s got a good cast who, for the most part, can handle both the comedy and drama and make us care for the characters. This is more than some of the other superhero comedies can claim, so don’t be wary due to it’s status. It’s very funny and smart!
Final Rating: B
The Fitzgerald Family Christmas
Plot: Twenty years after abandoning his family, Jim Fitzgerald (Ed Lauter) learns he has pancreatic cancer. Knowing this will be his last Christmas, he wants to make amends and spend it with his family. His ex-wife, Rosie (Anita Gillette), is morally against it, as are some of the children. The family must put aside their differences and decide whether or not to spend one last Christmas with their estranged father.
Review: The Fitzgeralds aren’t so much people as they are mouth pieces. They seem to have their own set of morals until it’s time for a serious crux and they scramble with new feelings. That’s not to say actual humans don’t act like this. They do. They just don’t do so accordingly to a thinly veiled timeline.
I could name off each family member, but I feel their stereotypical role is a better description. You’ve got the eldest son who became the patriarch after his father abandoned them; the successful businessman who acts as if he doesn’t care about his family, but deeply does; the youngest son who’s struggling with drug and alcohol issues; the stuck-up daughter (who happens to be an Atheist) that, like the businessman, does deeply love her family; the divorcee going through a mid-life crisis; the pregnant abused wife; and lost, but certainly not least, the snotty twenty year-old who’s seeing an older gentleman. It should be noted that the businessman is seeing a much younger woman, so that evens it out. All of them fit into their roles and bring their problems to the forefront for some “much needed” melodrama.
The reason these problems don’t work for dramatic effect isn’t because they’re recycled. It’s because Edward Burns chucks them around whenever he feels fit. There’s not enough time for each one to be developed. They’re simply shoved down the viewer’s throat in a hope to strike a nerve. Throw enough dramatic elements on the screen and one is bound to connect. Admittedly, some do. They just don’t get enough time to fully develop and work the audience.
The only thing keeping this muddled and sappy film together are some decent performances. Connie Britton steals the show as Nora, Gerry’s (Edward Burns) new flame. It’s a pointless role that was seemingly thrown in to give Burns a love interest, yet she makes it work (a testament to her talent). It’s certainly better than the sickeningly insulting final act that had me rolling my eyes. Maybe I’m just a Grinch, but the Fitzgerald clan’s problems, while sympathetic, didn’t gauge much from me.
Final Rating: C-
Jesus Henry Christ
Plot: Henry James Hermin (Jason Spevack) is a prodigal genius at the age of ten. He is the formula of a test tube baby, who he discovers to be Dr. Slavkin O’Hara (Michael Sheen). This is to the chagrin of both his mother, Patricia (Toni Collette) and Slavkin’s daughter, Audrey (Samantha Weinstein), whose father published a book on her lesbianism (entitled “Born Gay or Made That Way?”). The only person to gain delight from this is Stan Herman (Frank Moore), Henry’s deadbeat grandfather. He is the only one who sees the true specialty inside of Henry.
Review: Dennis Lee shovels too much quirkiness down the audience’s throat. This in turn somewhat undermines the drama. “Jesus Henry Christ” is a film about a young boy finding himself by researching his family tree. Hoping to discover he’s more grounded in reality, he finds out he’s even more special than he thought. The product of a test tube and coming from an eccentric family on his mother’s side, it’s to no surprise that he’s so intelligent. Or, as he states it, “I’m not a genius. I just remember everything I see.”
For that is the special gift that Henry has possessed since birth. He began speaking at the age of nine months (via a special effect that reminded me of “Baby Geniuses”, the film’s worst detriment). By the age of ten, he’s been expelled from both public and Catholic schools (the latter for protesting the non-existence of Jesus Christ). He’s able to finagle his way into the University of Chicago due to extremely high test scores and a revelation I won’t reveal, but surprisingly works. This is when he starts digging into his family tree.
I already mentioned his biological father and lesbian half-sister. What I didn’t mention was his peculiar family members. They couldn’t simply be normal. Lee had to have them be flashy caricatures. You’ve got the dimwitted twin brothers who accidentally kill themselves after accusing one another of being gay. His Uncle Jimmy died of AIDS and is basically forgotten. His only surviving uncle is Billy, who fled to Canada at the age of eighteen to avoid the draft. His grandmother died when Patricia was ten in a birthday candle fire accident that still haunts her to this day. See what I mean by too much quirkiness?
It’s not that some of the quirkiness doesn’t work. I liked Henry deducing that his black classmate is adopted due to his father’s Caucasian ethnicity (the reactions are priceless) and the stuff involving Slavkin and Audrey work. The latter being because there’s heart behind them. They don’t come across as walking caricatures made to stand out from the crowd, despite the fact that they’re the most abnormal. Even Slavkin’s ex-wife’s deceased husband worked in context (though the way he died was way too quirky, as well).
It’s the emotional dynamic of the characters that holds “Jesus Henry Christ” together. The actors, including the children, are top-notch and sympathetic. Toni Collette has the hardest task, as Patricia can be overbearing at times. The compassion she shows for her son makes us overlook her downfalls, just like with Frank Moore as her father. Michael Sheen is his usual magnificent self in a restrained performance and, as mentioned, the child actors hold their own. Without these people, the film would have fallen much shorter.
Final Rating: B-
A Cat in Paris
Plot: Zoé discovers that her cat is the accomplice of one of Paris’ cat burglars, Nico. When Victor Costa, the gangster who killed her father and is terrorizing her detective mother, captures her, it’s up to Nico and her beloved cat to save her.
Review: “A Cat in Paris” plays out like a storybook, so it’s only fitting that it’s animated like one. The textures and lightly toned colors resemble that of one you would find in a elegantly drawn picture book. Even the way the characters move replicates what one would expect a character in such a book to move. Their motions are fluid, but their movements are met with squiggly lines that swift briskly through each frame. While not the highest quality in most people’s eyes for an animated film, it gives the film a certain charm that most of the CG-laden features nowadays do.
The story itself is as humdrum as those CG-laden features, but this is acceptable given it’s a children’s film. They won’t be as accustomed to the predictable plot points as the adults and be wowed by the lively activity. Even the adults will be a little enchanted seeing the cat burglar and his partner briskly running from rooftop to rooftop. It’s a thing of beauty!
Where it begins to lose the parents is the finale. It becomes overbloated and drags itself out. This is most likely to reach the exiguous sixty-four minute runtime (that way it can be classified as a feature film). It starts off innocently with a foot chase on the rooftops between Nico and Costa. This eventually leads to a showdown that reminded me of the finale of Tim Burton’s “Batman”, but doesn’t stop there. It continues for another five minutes or so and adds one last element that had me rolling my eyes. It’s cute for kids, but a little irritating for adults.
There’s only a few spots where it becomes irritating for adults. For the most part, it’s palatable fare that’s animation enchants the children and piques the parents’ attention. The English voice work is lively, with my favorite being JB Blanc as Victor Costa (if he wasn’t intentionally channeling Bob Hoskins, I’ll be surprised). His clumsy assistants are cheeky enough for the kids and add the film’s main humor. Like everything else, it’s predictable, but serviceable.
Final Rating: B-