Despite having heard Mike Birbiglia's story multiple times on This American Life, I was still entertained by its film adaptation. The movie shows its radio/ standup comedy roots on its sleeve with frequent narration, but the performances are good enough and there are enough interesting visuals (including a nice long take of an exhausted Birbiglia checking in to a La Quinta hotel) to warrant a film adaptation. I also found it to be pretty funny, too, despite having heard most of the jokes before. For a newcomer, I can only think it'd make an even better impression.

While I was watching the movie, I couldn't help but compare it to Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture, another movie about an aimless twentysomething surrounded by problems of their own creation (or at least exacerbation). In fact, I hear Birbiglia and Dunham are friends and Birbiglia did a guest spot on Dunham's HBO series Girls. While I really disliked Tiny Furniture, Birbiglia's character in Sleepwalk with Me is far more likeable and at least shows some ambition, so when he does make self-destructive decisions, you end up laughing and sympathizing with him rather than judging him. Maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough to get the satire in Tiny Furniture. Maybe I prefer the simple Hollywood character arcs of Sleepwalk with Me. Or maybe I'm just a chauvinist pig.

Recommended.